Cover of Night
by BookLover86
Summary: Hiccup is gone. He ran away after he was chosen to kill the Monstrous Nightmare and Stoick refuses to chose a successor. Five years after Hiccup disappeared, a Night Fury is shot down, but there is one thing special about this dragon: There is a human on it's back. The mysterious young man seems harmless, but is his past? Hiccstrid eventually.
1. Chapter 1-Prologue

**Hey guys! This is BookLover86, and I am here with my first HTTYD Fanfic. This isn't however, my very first Fanfic. I have been working on quite a few already, just none of them HTTYD. Hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own HTTYD. Parts belong to Cressida Crowell and other parts belong to Dreamworks Animation. **

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**_Chapter 1-Prologue_**

Hiccup was being raised up on the shoulders of the villagers after being declared the person to kill the Monstrous Nightmare.

"Great! I'm so...excited." He said with fake enthusiasm. The mob carried him to the Great Hall, where he got away from his "adoring" fans. He walked to his house, his feet dragging in the dry dirt. He finally got to the grand lodge, and he opened the back door, sneaking into the empty house.

Hiccup landed in his room, and took a deep breath. He grabbed a piece of paper, and wrote his father a note, placing it on his made bed. He grabbed a satchel, and filled it with everything that was important to him. The satchel ended up having his notebook, plenty of extra paper, three charcoal pencils, a compass, a fishing net, and an extra pair of clothes.

Hiccup slung it on his back, and jumped out his window, landing on his feet. He took off running toward the forest where Toothless was hidden. He crawled under the shield which he wedged in between the rocks the second time he approached Toothless.

"Come on bud. We're leaving. We're going on a little vacation...forever." His sleeping dragon uncurled himself from the ball he was in, and groaned. Hiccup smiled and rubbed the Night Fury's head.

"No one understands me here. I feel like I'm nothing without the dragons. I'm scrawny, weak, and can't do anything right." Toothless rested his head in Hiccup's lap, and purred contentedly. Hiccup chuckled as he stroked the black scales on Toothless's head.

"Maybe I'll find out who I'm supposed to be...away from Berk. Away from all the people who criticize me, all the people who hate me, all the people who think of me as nothing more than a piece of food lodged in their throat that they can't get rid of." Hiccup stood up, and slid onto Toothless's back, putting his feet in the stirrups. He adjusting the satchel so it wouldn't fall off when he was flying, and grabbed the reins.

"Let's go bud."

Toothless spread his wings and took off, flying into the bright blue sky with Hiccup on his back.

* * *

Stoick was starting to get worried. Hiccup had been chosen to kill the Monstrous Nightmare, but he didn't seem happy that he was chosen for such an honor. He walked to his house, and opened the door. The house seemed strangely empty, due to the fact that Hiccup was last seen going into the house.

"Hiccup!" Stoick yelled, hoping to summon his son, but no one responded to his call. He climbed the stairs that led to his son's room. He opened the door, expecting to see Hiccup, but instead, seeing a room with no other human occupying it.

"Hiccup?" Stoick said, his grand voice sounding pitiful against the emptiness of the house. He began to search the room, not finding anything that suggested Hiccup was in any kind of trouble, until he found a note laying on top of Hiccup's neatly made bed.

It was addressed to him. Stoick picked it up and unfolded it, recognizing Hiccup's familiar writing as he began to read.

_Dear Dad,_

_ I'm sorry. If you're reading this, that means you're at least looking for me, but you won't find m__e. Ever. I'm leaving. This may seem like a cowardly move, but what do you expect me to do? You and everyone else here wants me to kill a dragon, but I can't even fight them._

_I'm sorry it had to come to this, but Berk is where everyone hates me, where everyone criticizes me, and where I'm just another disappointment to you and everyone else. _

_Maybe I'll find a life for myself that doesn't revolve around pleasing people who don't understand who I truly am. Maybe you'll finally see that being different isn't bad. It's how you see the difference in them that influences everything. You saw me as weak, pitiful, and above all, useless. _

_As my last wish, please promise me that if someone else is different, that you'll make sure that they know that being different isn't bad. It's how you handle it. Promise me that they will never feel out of place due to who they are. Please? For me._

_ Tell Gobber that I am thankful for all his mentoring and support. Tell Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins that I don't blame them for hating me, but it would've felt nice to be the least bit accepted before I started to show skill with the dragons. Dad, I want you to know that I'm sorry I couldn't be the son you wanted, but I tried to at least be a son you could be proud of. I hope I succeeded._

_ Goodbye dad. _

_ Sincerely, _

_ Hiccup Horrendous Haddock lll _

Stoick felt his blood freeze in his veins as his heart rate sped up considerably. He read the note again, and again. After the fifth time he read the note, he let the piece of paper slip out of his hands and float gracefully to the floor.

Soon after, Stoick fell to his knees, tears starting to flow down his cheeks and wetting his mane of a beard. Stoick started to sob, his heart breaking off piece by piece as the realization struck him. His only son, his only connection to Valka was gone.

His mind felt like it was walking through quicksand, slow and sluggish until one thought made Stoick jump up as if Thor struck him with lightning: Hiccup was slow, and he wasn't a good sailor. Him sailing off on a ship is the only way off the island, and Hiccup never really learned how to man a ship correctly.

Stoick burst out of his house, and dashed to the blacksmith's where Gobber was whacking away at a sword.

"Gobber!" Stoick cried. "I need your help." Gobber looked up to see the chief and his best friend with tears streaking down his face.

"What is it Stoick?" "Hiccup's gone." Stoick breathed. Gobber's eyes widened.

"What do you mean he's gone?"

"I mean, he ran away. He left this note." He handed the note to the blacksmith, who read it, then gave it back to Stoick who slipped it into his cape.

"The ships are the only way he could get off the island..." Stoick didn't have to finish before Gobber set down the sword and started running as fast as he could to the docks, with Stoick matching him step for step. They got to the docks, and ran to the viking who was guarding the ships.

"Did anyone come and get a ship?" Stoick asked while breathing heavily. The viking shook his head no.

"Nobody's been here all day." Stoick's eyes widened. The docks was the only place where ships were kept, or sailed from. There was only one place you could sail a ship from on Berk, and that was the docks.

Even if Hiccup made his own boat, he would have to sail it from the docks. That must mean he was still on the island. Stoick and Gobber ran back into the village, yelling for everyone to meet them at the Great Hall.

Ten minutes later, all the villagers were gathered in the Great Hall, talking quietly amongst themselves as to what caused Stoick to call an emergency meeting. Stoick stood and raised his hands for silence, and the hall quieted instantly.

"I have called this meeting to tell you all something very important, and we cannot waste any time. Hiccup is gone." Stoick announced, his eyes watering as he said what he didn't want to believe. The hall erupted in gasps, everyone starting to whisper in shock.

"QUIET DOWN!" Gobber cried. Everyone silenced in the blink of an eye. "He left me a note, that I will read to you all." Stoick read the note out loud, and once he finished, everyone had tears in their eyes.

"I need everyone's help to find him. He didn't get on a ship yet which means that he is still on the island. Split up into groups and search the island. Leave no stone unturned. Go." Everyone burst out of the hall, grabbing weapons and splitting up into groups to search the island.

The teens started to search where Astrid had seen Hiccup walking a few days ago. Astrid tossed her axe from hand to hand, while her eyes were darting back and forth. Snotlout was turning his spear around in his hand and was actually quiet. Fishlegs was tapping his hammer against his palm and his eyes were focused on the ground. The twins weren't arguing for once in their life, and they both had no weapon in sight.

The group continued until they found a secret cove hidden in the woods. As they were contemplating how to get in, they heard Snotlout's voice.

"Hey guys! Come look at this!" As they followed his voice, an opening in the rocks came into view, but it was blocked by a shield. Astrid pushed through the teens, examining the shield.

"It was lodged here by a person. It's too tall to jump over, but there's not much room to slide under." Fishlegs observed. Astrid nodded in agreement, but was still looking at the space underneath the shield.

"Then how do you explain those?" Ruffnut asked, pointing to the ground. There were footprints clearly pressed into the dirt.

"Hiccup came through here." Astrid whispered.

"How do you know it was Hiccup?" Snotlout asked.

"There isn't another viking who is as scrawny as he is and this is close to where I saw him in the woods." She reasoned. She slid under the shield, and sliced it in half with her axe, so everyone else could get through easily.

Once they were all through, they started to search the cove. Astrid found a cave, where she found many burned spots on the ground. Ruffnut and Tuffnut found a pencil floating in the water. Fishlegs found multiple lines engraved in the dirt, faint but still there. Snotlout saw strands of rope sitting next to a rock.

"Hiccup was definitely here." Fishlegs announced.

"We have to tell Stoick." Ruffnut said. Everyone nodded and walked out of the cove.

When they told Stoick what they found, he demanded to see it. After a thorough investigation, he agreed that Hiccup was here, but he was gone. No one else came back with reports of seeing something that indicated Hiccup being there.

After a few days, Hiccup was declared dead by everyone besides Stoick. He refused to think that his only son was gone forever. Stoick cried more the next few weeks than anyone ever saw before. Everyone felt terrible about Hiccup.

No matter how badly everyone felt, no one felt as badly as Stoick. For the first week, he refused to eat, and only drank when he needed to. He became a shell of the man he was when Hiccup was here. Eventually, the problem of a successor came up.

"Who's it gonna be?" Someone asked out loud.

"Snotlout of course!" Spitelout proudly said.

"He is Hiccup's older cousin after all!" Everyone looked to Stoick for him to confirm what everyone knew was logical.

"There will be no new successor," Stoick announced, his voice quiet and hollow. "Hiccup will come back." Spitelout laughed at that.

"I hate to break it to you Stoick, but Hiccup's dead."

"NO!" Stoick cried, standing. No one had heard Stoick yell since Hiccup went missing. "I know my son. He can't survive on his own, and his isn't dumb enough to stay out there and die, He will be back, and until he does, I will chose no successor to replace my son. Understood?"

Spitelout nodded, but narrowed his eyes in disbelief when the chief said that Hiccup would be back. There was no more talk on the subject of a successor.

Everyone on Berk was plunged into a cauldron of guilt and sadness. Life on Berk would never be the same again.

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**Well, that's chapter one! If you like the story, reviews are always welcome. See you next time.**

**BookLover86, Out! ;)**


	2. Chapter 2-Five Years Later

**Hey guys! So this chapter is short, but it covers everything that I want it to. Hopefully, the next chapter will be up soon, because it's going to be my favorite to write so far! It's the chapter I imagined that brought this story about! Hope you enjoy this one!**

**Warning: This chapter contains some gore and some dragon killing. This is the reason it's rated T.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing concerning HTTYD. I only own the plot.**

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**_Chapter 2-Five Years Later..._**

It's been five years since Hiccup disappeared, and Stoick hadn't gotten much better. He ate correctly, drank all the water he needed to, and was a good chieftain to his people, but his heart never recovered from the wound it gained when Hiccup disappeared.

Everyone else seemed to have gotten over the fact that they would never see Hiccup again, but no one believed that Stoick would get over it himself. Life went on as usual, but it seemed as if the dragon raids were more frequent now that Hiccup wasn't there to screw them up.

Every day was consumed with fishing, training, and doing other necessary things. No one had any free time. Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were now either nineteen or twenty years old, but training as if they were still fourteen and fifteen. Even the vikings who were thirty and forty still trained at least once a week.

* * *

Astrid dodged a streak of fire the Deadly Nadder spouted, her grip on her axe tightening as she somersaulted and jumped up. She threw her axe at the Nadder while it was distracted chasing Fishlegs. The axe buried itself in the left side of its head, blinding its left eye.

It bellowed in rage, shaking the axe out of its head and a fair amount of blood gushing out. Snotlout yelled a battle cry, and threw his spear at the beast. The point lodge itself right above the Nadder's right eye.

Blood poured out of the wound, blinding the other eye. The dragon roared with anger as it lunged blindly toward its latest attacker. Snotlout dodged out of the way as Ruffnut came up from behind with Tuffnut by her side.

They both jumped on the dragon, but Tuffnut scrambled to the head, hitting it with a hammer to distract it while Ruffnut buried her blade in the Deadly Nadder's neck. The reptile roared in pain, bucking off the twins. They crashed against a wall, disoriented.

The Deadly Nadder staggered around, blood gushing out of the multiple wounds the vikings inflicted on the poor dragon. Fishlegs threw his hammer, the blunt weapon hitting the dragon on neck, right on the cut Ruffnut had made earlier. The Nadder fell to the ground in agony.

Astrid had retrieved her axe, and stormed over to the defeated dragon, forcing her axe into the reptile's neck, putting it out of its misery. The trainers gathered around the carcass, all breathing raggedly.

"Get it out of here." Astrid ordered, her voice cold and commanding. A group of teenagers dashed into the kill ring, grabbing the corpse and hauled it out of the arena.

Astrid inspected her axe, the dragon blood contrasting greatly with the pale metal of her trusty axe. She walked to a pail of water nestled in the wall of the arena. She dipped her weapon in the water, washing the slimy blood off. The water tinted a deeper red, and swirled around violently as Astrid finished washing the lethal axe.

Astrid traveled out of the arena, and down to the blacksmith's. Gobber was there, banging away on an axe similar to Astrid's own.

"Gobber!" Astrid cried, grabbing the viking out of his focus.

"What Astrid?" He asked.

"Can you sharpen my axe before tonight? I have a feeling that we will'll get a big attack tonight." Gobber sighed tiredly.

"You and everyone else in this gods forsaken place!" Astrid was taken aback. Gobber never lost his cool.

"Sorry Gobber." She mumbled.

"It's okay," Gobber said, sitting down.

"It's just that my work has become ten times harder without Hiccup." Astrid stiffened at the name of the dead son of Stoick.

"He ran away because he was scared to kill a dragon, which vikings are required to do." She growled. Gobber glared furiously at her.

"May I remind you that you were part of the reason he ran away. He felt like he didn't belong, and it was all our faults. If we actually treated him the way he deserved, he could still be here. Have you thought of that?"

Astrid had thought of that. Every day. She felt like the Nadder she just killed when she thought of Hiccup. She knew it was partly her fault, and it ripped her heart apart. She never paid any attention to the runt, and when she finally wanted answers, he disappeared.

"Are we the ones who ran away because we didn't want to kill a dragon? No. Hiccup did. It's not our fault," She dropped her axe onto the table.

"When it's done, summon me." Astrid walked out before Gobber could say one more word.

* * *

Stoick walked off the ship, his shoulders sagging. They still hadn't found the dragons' nest, and he was starting to get worried. What if they never found it? His people would be forever vulnerable to the merciless attacks of the dragons.

"What do we do now Stoick?" Spitelout asked. Stoick sighed.

"What more can we do?" The vikings started to murmur in agreement.

"Gather the village. We meet in the Great Hall in fifteen minutes." Stoick announced. His men walked off, spreading the word. Within fifteen minutes, the whole village was in the Great Hall. Stoick stood and raised his hands.

"Now, we all know that the dragon attacks have become more frequent and dangerous in the past five years-"

"Since Hiccup left!" A viking cried out. Stoick's face sagged at the mention of his lost son.

"Yes," He admitted with a pained expression on his big face.

"And I can't ignore the facts: We'll never find the nest, and it is too dangerous to stay here much longer," Stoick sighed.

"We have to abandon Berk. We'll be able to find another place to live, and we can replace every object we have, but we can't replace the lives that will be lost if we stay here." Angry shouts met his announcement, but Stoick simply raised his hands for silence. The crowed obeyed reluctantly.

"I know that my decision is not popular, but I am completely sound on this subject. We leave as soon as we have enough boats and provisions for everyone on Berk. Meeting adjourned." Stoick exited out the back way, while the Great Hall erupted in chaos. Gobber met Stoick in the back.

"That could've gone better." Stoick mumbled. Gobber patted his friend on his back.

"They'll come around to the idea."

"I don't know if they will ever." Stoick sighed and walked back to his house.

"Give it some time. They'll eventually realize that you're just doing what's best for them." Gobber said, trying to reassure his friend. Stoick sighed once more, and looked to the clouds.

"Why did you have to leave Hiccup?" He cried, tears flowing down his face.

"We need you."

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**Well, that's two chapters done in two days. That's the fastest I've ever gotten chapters out. Granted, the second chapter is short, but still! Don't worry though, the next chapter will come ASAP. **

**BookLover86, Out! ;)**


	3. Chapter 3-Night Fury!

**Here it is! The third chapter! This chapter has been my absolute favorite to write so far. It was really fun. **

**There will be some strange language in this chapter, and I just want you to know that the language is called Dragonese, which is an actual thing in the books. Almost all the Dragonese dialogue is authentic, created by Cressida Cowell herself. **

**I think there is only one or two words that I assumed on. If you see regular English, then she never mentioned a Dragonese translation for that word. I looked it up, and she only mentioned a handful of words and phrases in Dragonese. **

**Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own HTTYD. I only own the plot.**

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**_Chapter 3-Night Fury!_**

Astrid felt a lump of anger expand in her chest as soon as Stoick announced that they would abandon Berk.

"What!" She cried banging her fists against a table. Stoick raised his big hands for silence. He talked some more, but it sailed over her head. Leave Berk?! She wanted to punch the chief for making such a stupid decision.

Once he was done talking, she saw him walk out the back door. Astrid stormed over to the door, and opened it to see Stoick talking to Gobber. "

Give it some time. They'll eventually realize that you're just doing what's best for them." Gobber said, patting Stoick's back with his still right hand. Stoick sighed once more, and looked to the clouds.

"Why did you have to leave Hiccup?" He cried, tears flowing down his face.

"We need you." Astrid closed the door quietly. She'd never seen the chief break down like this. He usually was strong and confident, but the loss of his son really broke him. She suddenly felt awful for the way she reacted to his decision. He was just trying to make sure no one else lost a loved one.

She felt tears start to trickle down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away, and walked out of the Great Hall, which was buzzing with commotion. She started to stroll through the village when she saw a fiery streak fall down from the sky.

"MONSTROUS NIGHTMARE!" She cried, alerting the other vikings. They poured out of the Great Hall, brandishing weapons. Another one of the monsters flew down. raining fire onto the village.

A troop of Deadly Nadders landed in the middle of the village, followed by a herd of Hideous Zipplebacks. Gronckles started to shoot lava at every moving target they could.

"DRAGON RAID!" She cried, her voice carrying over the clamor. She raced to a catapult, loading it with a rock, and shooting it into the sky hitting a Nadder on the head. The Nadder dropped like a fly, and vikings rushed to finish the job. The air turned cold, and a dangerous whistling sound was heard.

"NIGHT FURY!" Spitelout cried out.

"GET DOWN!" Astrid ducked and covered her head just before a bolt of bright blue plasma hit a Zippleback on the back. The Zippleback roared, and flew away.

"The Night Fury is helping us?" She mumbled disbelieving. Astrid shook her head, and dashed to a bola cannon. She loaded it, and aimed it at the sky.

"Give me something to shoot at." She whispered. A Monstrous Nightmare shot a beam of fire into the clouds, and the Night Fury was illuminated for a second. She took a shot, hoping she hit the stupid dragon. She heard an unfamiliar roar, and fixed her eyes on a falling shadow.

"Stoick!" Astrid yelled at the chief.

"I shot down a Night Fury!" Stoick's eyes widened.

"Show me where it it!" He demanded. Astrid nodded and started to run off toward where she saw the dragon fall. As she crossed over the hill, a black shape tangled in a net was able to be seen.

"There!" She yelled, pointing to the tangled mess. They reached it in record time, only to see a small streak of fire shoot up. Astrid shrieked as the fire stayed where it was. It wasn't a streak of fire: It was a blade.

The blade started to saw through the ropes trapping the dragon. Astrid and Stoick were too shocked to do anything as the ropes fell away from the Night Fury, freeing the devil. The dragon sat up and shook itself, its eyes merely slits as it caught sight of the two vikings.

The Night Fury snarled, as it spread its wings to reveal a crumpled shape underneath the dragon. The shape started to stir, and crawled out from under the Night Fury. The reptile growled loudly, and opened its mouth to shoot another plasma blast, when the shape stood up.

It was a person.

They had their face covered with a mask, and their body covered in a strange suit that Astrid couldn't see clearly. The person put their hand on the Night Fury's head, and said something in a strange language.

Stoick finally regained his stamina, and yelled a battle cry, swinging his hammer toward the beast. The human cried out in the same strange language, and produced a metal tube. He clicked a button, and a blade was revealed.

In a second, the blade was covered in fire. It was the blade that had cut the ropes. The person swung the blade at Stoick, successfully keeping him away from the devil.

"These da wingless are di piss-people **(These humans are the enemy)**." The person said, the voice sounding to belong to a man. The Night Fury snarled dangerously at Stoick and Astrid.

"What kind of stupidity is this language?" Astrid asked, glaring at the mysterious man.

"Me will do di screemi beserkers **(I will lose my temper)**." The man said, putting his hand out in a warning motion.

"What in the name of the gods did you say?" Stoick demanded, his grip on his hammer tightening.

"I said, I will lose my temper. Leave me be." The man warned, talking in Norse, his voice scratchy, slow, and distant as if he had not spoken Norse in a couple of years.

"What kind of empty threat is that you idiot?" Astrid asked, her voice cold.

"We have the power of a village, weapons, and experience. What do you have?" The man stood up straighter, and Astrid got the feeling that he was smirking under the mask.

"I have a Night Fury. You do know they never miss, don't you?" Stoick glared at him.

"We've noticed," Stoick said coldly. "You've seem to forgotten that we already shot down this creature and you. You aren't very threatening." The man laughed.

"I also have all the dragons that I can train, and I've never failed to train a dragon that I wanted to, so I suggest you let me and Toothless go." Astrid looked at him warily.

"Toothless?" The man gestured to his Night Fury.

"This is Toothless. He doesn't take kindly to people threatening me or him. Did you know that Night Furies are very protective over the ones they love?" The rider asked, his head tilting slightly.

The Night Fury-Toothless-pushed his head against the man's side, and the man stroked his head, making Toothless purr. Astrid stared, slack jawed at the sight of the most ferocious dragon ever to live acting like a pet! This man was a true wonder!

"No," Astrid said in awe. "I never knew that."

"That's because we're too busy trying to make sure they don't kill us to treat them like cats!" Stoick yelled, his face red in anger and impatience.

"Miaowla." The man said.

"What?" Astrid asked.

"Miaowla," The man said again. "Cat."

Astrid looked at the rider with a clueless expression on her face.

"Miaowla is cat in Dragonese." The rider explained.

"Dragonese?" Astrid asked.

"Enough of this! You're coming back with us to answers some questions." Stoick cried. He seized the rider by his collar, and Toothless growled dangerously.

"It's okay Toothless," The man said. "Na do di wobbly screamers **(Don't throw a tantrum)**." Toothless huffed indignantly at the comment said in the strange language. The man looked at Stoick.

"I'll go with you willingly, but if I do, you will promise to leave Toothless and me alone once we've answered your questions." Stoick considered this, then let the rider go.

"Fine, but you will answer our questions without question." The man laughed at the irony of the statement. Stoick glared even more, while Astrid stifled a laugh.

They could kill him in the blink of an eye, and he's laughing. He certainly was brave.

The man slid onto Toothless's back, and Toothless started to trot after Stoick.

* * *

The village had driven away all the other dragons, and were now tending their wounds. They all cried out in shock and anger at the sight of a person riding a _Night Fury_. At least five vikings came at the creature with a weapon, before being ordered off by Stoick or scared off by Toothless.

Astrid almost laughed at the sight of grown men cowering in fear due to a dragon that acted like a cat. Stoick led rider and dragon into the village square and ordered them to stand in the middle.

He then issued a meeting to be held in five minutes time. Within three minutes, almost the whole village was gathered in the village square, everyone staring curiously at the dragon and rider. Astrid pushed her way to the front of the crowd, where she could now clearly see the rider, who was now leaning against his dragon.

The man looked to be about six feet tall, with a lean, yet muscular build. He was dressed in partly leather around his upper body, with some type of armor with arm brackets that made him look like his dragon. The armor and leather were jet black, the same color of Toothless's scales. His pants were the same black leather as what he wore on his upper body, and they had straps around them.

Now that the rider was in plain sight, Astrid could see that his left knee and below was a wooden and metal prosthetic leg. It seemed to be very complicated, even for Gobber to make, and he was the best blacksmith that Berk ever saw. It pressed down slightly when he shifted his foot and prosthetic, seeming to have almost the same aspects of a real leg, only metal. His other foot was covered by a black boot similar to what a viking would wear.

He also wore a cape that seemed to be made of Night Fury skin which settled around him like a cloud. When Astrid took a closer look, she saw that the cape was merely made of black leather, and shredded Night Fury scales were attached to it, giving off the illusion that he was part of the Night Fury when he rode hid dragon. His mask was pitch black with spikes on it, and had two eyeholes, but they weren't big enough for Astrid to see the color of his eyes.

Once she was done examining the man, she turned her attention to the Night Fury. The dragon had jet black scales, and acid greed eyes. There was a scar on his right shoulder, about a foot long. A large black leather saddle pad ran down a part of Toothless's back. This pad was clipped to two loops of curved metal that ran down and around Toothless's shoulders and front legs in order to keep it attached, and it was secured with wide black leather straps.

She trailed her eyes down to Toothless's tail. Or what _was_ his tail. His left tail fin was gone, and in its place was a blood red mechanical tail fin with a painting of a white skull wearing a viking helmet on it **(Pretend that the final tail Hiccup made for Toothless was the red one)**. She focused back on the saddle. Four lengths of cable made from ropes ran down his sides, two for each side. Astrid would guess the cables were to allow the rider to adjust the mechanical tail fin with the stirrups on either side of the saddle. The left stirrup was different to accommodate for the rider's metal leg.

Everything about this man and dragon was precise and carefully planned. They seemed to be one with each other, and extremely calm as the villagers glared at the unusual pair. Stoick stood on a rock, and raised his hands for silence.

"During the raid, Astrid shot down this Night Fury, and it was discovered that a rider accompanied it." Stoick announced gesturing to the dragon and rider.

The man seemed to be surprised when Stoick said that Astrid was the one to shot him and his Night Fury down. He searched the crowd for a few seconds, before his eyes landed on Astrid. His head tilted slightly as if he was thinking.

"He has agreed to answer any questions without asking some of his own, if we leave him and his dragon alone once he has answered all our questions, and I have agreed." The villagers said nothing in response to their chief's announcement.

"Before we get to the questions, I must request that you remove your mask." Stoick said to the rider. The man shrugged.

"Why not?" He put his hands up to his mask, but Toothless growled at him. The dragon made a series of strange clicks, roars, and hisses, the collection of sounds sounding like a strange language.

"Nee-ah. They're nee-aht di piss-people. Not anymore **(No. They're not the enemy. Not anymore)**." The rider said to his dragon. Every villager was in awe. This man could communicate with his dragon?

The man raised his hands to his helmet again, but this time, he pulled it off, and set it on the ground next to his feet. When he stood straight up again, Astrid gasped. The man was very handsome.

His short hair was tousled, unkempt, and the color of night with two little braids behind his right ear. His eyes were emerald green, with slightly thick eyebrows above. He had a slightly pointed chin, with some stubble covering it. He had a crooked smile, and extremely tan skin. All in all, he looked like the kind of guy who was sarcastic, funny, and extremely skilled in many ways. Astrid swore her jaw dropped to the ground.

"Thank you," Stoick said. "First question: What is your name?" All the villagers eyes were on the man. He smirked at the question.

"My name?" He asked innocently, amusement clear in his eyes. Stoick nodded.

The rider looked around at everyone before smirking like he knew something they didn't.

"My name is Dark Ness."

* * *

**The very complicated description of Toothless's tail came from the How To Train Your Dragon Wiki, but with my own touches added in. I didn't know how to describe it correctly, so I just copied and pasted part of the description, and made it to fit the story. **

**I didn't want to take credit for the description, but I also didn't want you to think that I committed plagiarism. I added my own touches, but I did not write the description fully. I just wanted to describe it correctly, and I couldn't think of any way to do it without doing it the way I did.**

** I would never commit plagiarism, so that's why I wrote this note. I would've done it at the beginning, but I didn't want to give away anything. ;)**

**Another thing too: I did not make a mistake with the dragon rider's name. He says his first name is Dark, and his last name is Ness.**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and thank you for all the reviews, follows, and favorites. It really means a lot. **

**Next chapter will be out ASAP!**

**BookLover86, Out! ;)**


	4. Chapter 4-Dark Ness?

**Hey guys! Fourth chapter! Whoo! Sorry for not updating sooner, but I've been on a big trip, so I've had no time.**

** I promise that the fifth chapter will be out as soon as I can manage it. Until then, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own HTTYD. I only own the plot.**

* * *

**_Chapter 4-Dark Ness?_**

Astrid wasn't sure she heard the rider correctly. His name was Darkness? Apparently she wasn't the only one, as Stoick looked at the rider with a confused expression.

"Your name is Darkness?" He asked. The rider laughed.

"No," He chuckled. "My first name is Dark, and my last name is Ness. Everyone always messes my name up." Stoick shook his head in disbelief, but continued nonetheless with the questions.

"Second question: How old are you?"

"Twenty." Astrid felt her heart plummet, as the rider mentioned that he was twenty years old. If Hiccup was here, he would be twenty. Stoick seemed to be thinking the same thing as his eyes reflected the sadness in his heart.

"Who are your parents?"

"Never knew my dad. My mom raised me, but she died five years ago."

"Where do you live?"

"In a dragon nest." Stoick stopped at that.

"You live with dragons?" Astrid couldn't help but ask. Dark smirked.

"Yes I do, but not the nest you're looking for. I live in a nest where the king dragon is good and fair. The nest you are looking for was controlled by an evil queen who forced them to raid you. If a dragon didn't bring back enough food for the queen, the dragon would be eaten itself as substitute." Everyone's mouth dropped the ground. Stoick glared at Dark.

"How do you know so much about this nest? How do you know that we have been searching for that particular nest? What do you mean by king dragon and queen dragon? Why did you say that the nest _was_ controlled by an evil queen?" Stoick fired the questions at Dark, his voice cold and demanding.

"One, I know so much about the nest because the nest is close to my own, and me and Toothless have explored inside of it a couple of times. Two, I know that you've been searching for the nest because of the dragons in my nest. The few dragons that broke away from her control came to my nest, which is the closest. The way I know that the dragons were being controlled by the queen, is because I speak Dragonese, which one of the languages among dragons. Toothless taught me, and I prefer to speak it instead of Norse. Anyway, the dragons told of a vicious village named Berk which they raid so they can live, and the vikings were searching for their nest. Three, each nest is controlled by either a king dragon or queen dragon. They are usually huge dragons with a controlling nature, or a kind nature. Four, I mean _was_ controlled, because I defeated the evil queen. That's how I lost my leg." Dark finished answering Stoick's latest questions. Stoick narrowed his eyes at the dragon rider.

"If the queen is dead, then why are we still getting raided, but even worse than before?" Dark scowled at the question.

"Most of the dragons didn't go to a nest at all. They decided to live on their own, or with a group. That's why the raids are worse, because they're stealing food to eat, not to give to the queen. When they were controlled by the queen, they only stole enough to not get themselves eaten, but now they are stealing enough to live off of, which could be a lot if they're hunting for their family or group, which most of them probably are." Stoick seemed to take this into consideration, as he mulled over Dark's words.

"I have no more questions for you," Stoick said. Dark grinned and slid onto Toothless's back, but Stoick raised his hand to stop him. "But you will stay here due to the fact we could have more questions for you." Dark glared at him.

"You said that if I answer your questions, that me and Toothless could go free." He pointed out.

"I know, and I don't break my promises, but I'm sure that more questions will arise for you to answer, so we are not done. You will stay in Berk, and your dragon can stay in the Kill Ring."

"Doubly yuck-yuck da wingless. Berk is the equivalent to a greenclaw crapspot **(Disgusting humans. Berk is the equivalent to a dragon toilet)**." Dark hissed, getting off of Toothless. Stoick narrowed his eyes at the latest evidence of Dragonese, sure that it was offensive.

"Nee-ah. Toothless stays with me no matter where I stay. If he doesn't, then I'm going. **(No. Toothless stays with me no matter where I stay. If he doesn't, then I'm going)**." Dark declared, rubbing Toothless's head. Stoick glared at the rebellious rider.

"May I remind you that we will kill you and your dragon if you try to leave?" Dark glared back.

"May I remind you that Toothless will be able to kill a good amount of you and cause some serious destruction before you take him down? He never misses." The villagers erupted in shocked whispers. This complete stranger was threatening them? Stoick sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Fine," Stoick agreed. "Your dragon will be allowed to stay with you for the duration of your stay," Dark scoffed at the word "stay". "You can stay in the empty house behind mine. There are two bedrooms, both big enough to fit both you, and seven Night Furies. Despite the fact you are a guest, you will be assigned a chaperone who will be with you almost all the time. They will move into the other room, they will be responsible for showing you around town, and they will be responsible for keeping you here."

When Stoick said that Dark would be assigned a chaperone, said man growled and muttered a couple phrases that sounded very unflattering under his breath, but said nothing else.

"Who will this chaperone be?" Spitelout asked.

"The chaperone must be familiar with the island, and willing to risk danger on a daily basis. They must also be willing to take responsibility if he runs away, and about the same age as Dark." Stoick said, his eyes scanning the crowd for potential volunteers.

Snotlout raised his hand, pushing his way to the front of the crowd.

"I volunteer!" He cried. Astrid felt a burning sensation in her heart, knowing that if Snotlout becomes Dark's chaperone, then something bad will happen.

Before she knew it, she was raising her hand high in the air. The crowd gasped at her.

"I volunteer." She said, looking directly at Dark. He smiled unusually at her that made her chest tighten with an emotion she couldn't place. She knew that she was going to regret this in the long run. Stoick looked around for any more volunteers, and when he saw none, shrugged.

"Dark, it's your choice who becomes your chaperone." Dark's smile wiped off his face once Stoick finished. He looked at Snotlout, and his eyes gained an angry gleam to them, but when he looked at Astrid, the gleam disappeared, and the smile returned.

He lifted his hand, his index finger pointing to the person he chose.

"Her," He said, smiling at Astrid. "I chose her."

* * *

Astrid finished packing her last bag, and grabbed the other two. She still couldn't believe that Dark had chosen her to be his chaperone. She was almost sure he would've chosen Snotlout for one obvious reason: Dark was a boy, and Snotlout was a boy. Astrid was a GIRL!

Other than that, Astrid couldn't think of another reason that he had chosen her over Snotlout. As Astrid walked down the stairs, she thought of the weeks to come, how she would get along with Dark, and more importantly, how she would get along with Toothless.

The dragon seemed to be friendly with Dark, but how would he be with Astrid? She opened the door to see Dark sitting on top of Toothless, waiting for her.

"Could you carry this?" Astrid asked, tossing a bag at him.

"You don't really give me much of a choice do you?" He chuckled. She shrugged in response. Dark simply smirked, situated the bag on his lap, and motioned for Astrid to lead the way. She started to walk to her new home, with Toothless trotting beside her. Dark refused to walk to the house. Instead, he rode around on Toothless.

As Astrid neared the house, she felt her chest tighten with the same feeling she had when Dark had smiled strangely at her. This was her new life. Keeping track of the dragon rider, taking responsibility if he messed up, and accompanying him almost twenty four-seven, not to mention living with him.

They finally got to the house, and Astrid opened the door. It was a very nice house, with a well furnished kitchen and sitting area on the first floor with stairs leading to the second floor. Dark whistled appreciatively at the sight of the first floor. "

Nice place." Astrid had to agree with him on that subject. This house was better built than most in the village, but she knew why. This house was the house Stoick built when Hiccup disappeared. He built this house for Hiccup if he ever returned, but he never did, so Stoick just left it to gather dust.

Astrid started to walk up the stairs, with Dark and Toothless behind her, Dark now walking on his own leg and metal thing, with Toothless behind him. When they got to the second floor, there were two doors in a hallway. Astrid opened one, while Dark opened the other. Through the door, was a huge room with a big bed, an elegant chest, multiple shelving units, and gorgeous windows.

"Wow." Astrid whispered, setting her stuff down on the bed.

"Wow is right." Dark's voice sounded behind Astrid. She jumped and pulled her axe off her back, wielding it against an amused Dark.

"If you're gonna do that the entire time we're going to be living in this house, then you aren't making it out of Berk alive." Astrid warned. Dark laughed heartily, as if her threat meant nothing.

"I'll consider myself warned." Astrid glared at him. She was already regretting her decision. She looked past Dark to see Toothless jumping around an identical room, his big green eyes and tongue lolling out of his mouth making him look like a common house cat.

Astrid had to stifle a laugh at the sight. Dark saw her put her hand over her mouth to stop the laugh that came anyway, and looked behind him. He laughed when he saw his fierce, protective dragon acting like a soft, gentle, pet.

"Hey bud! Whatcha doing?" Toothless turned at the sound of Dark's voice, and glared at him for interrupting his joyous frolic. Astrid burst out laughing at the sudden change in mood, with Dark following. Toothless huffed indignantly at the laughs, and turned around so his back was to them, swiping his tail across the floor.

Dark shook his head fondly before going to his own room. Astrid looked at the closed door across the hall with a weird feeling in her chest.

Maybe Dark wasn't so bad.

* * *

"And this is the blacksmith's." Astrid said, gesturing to the open air workplace. Dark's face sagged when she showed him the blacksmith's place. His eyes gleamed with sadness when he saw Gobber working on a couple of weapons.

Alone.

"That's Gobber," She said, pointing at said viking. "He's our blacksmith."

"Does he not have an apprentice?" Dark asked, his voice low and full of longing. Astrid looked at him strangely. If he lived with dragons, then how did he know that the blacksmith's get apprentices?

"No. He used to, but the apprentice...died."

"How?"

"Freak accident," Astrid said. That was technically true. Hiccup running away was a freak accident.

"Anyway, how did you know the blacksmith gets an apprentice if you live with dragons?" Dark smirked sadly.

"I said that I live with dragons now, but not when I was younger. I stayed in a village until I was about fifteen, before my mom sent me away during an attack. She said that if I left, that I could save myself. It was during that attack, that my mom was killed. I already had Toothless, so I just left, and found the dragon nest that I live in now. I befriended the dragons, and they treat me as one of their one."

"It sounds like you have a good life." Astrid pointed out. Dark nodded, his eyes locked on Gobber.

"I _did_." Astrid didn't probe anymore after that.

"That's Stoick's house. He's our chieftain." She said, pointing at one of the grandest houses in the village.

"The only other place you haven't seen, is the Kill Ring." Astrid said, walking in the direction of said training facility. Dark scowled at the mention, Kill Ring. When they got there, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins were teaming up on a Hideous Zippleback.

Dark gasped, and rushed into the Kill Ring, running with superhuman speed. He grabbed a hammer lying on the sidelines, and started to run at the Zippleback. Or at least that's what Astrid saw at first, before Dark threw the hammer at Snotlout's spear, breaking it in half. "Hey!" Snotlout cried out angrily. Dark then picked up the hammer and thew it at Fishlegs, knocking him on the ground. Astrid watched in shock as Dark ran at the twins, holding his arms out in a "T" position, hitting them both on the abdomen. The twins fell backwards, their weapons skittering across the arena.

Dark grabbed a metal tube that was attached to his right leg, and clicked a button, producing a blade covered in fire. He walked to the Zippleback, and swung the sword in a mesmerizing pattern.

The dragon roared at Dark, and he retracted the blade. He opened a hatch on the tube, knocking out a canister. He then grabbed one of the canisters strapped to his leg, loading the tube with whatever was in the canister.

Dark then turned the tube upside down and pressed a button, spraying Zippleback gas in a circular pattern, and lit it, creating a ring of fire around him. The Zippleback calmed down, and looked at Dark with curiosity in his eyes.

Dark approached the Zippleback with an outstretched hand. The dragon did nothing as Dark touched the right head, stroking the scales. Dark then put his other hand on the other head, doing the same thing as he did with the right head. Everyone stared in shock, as the Zippleback purred.

"Hey," Ruffnut called out. "We were gonna kill that." Dark turned to the vikings with fury in his eyes.

"Why were you going to kill him?" He asked, his voice full of rage.

"So we can train for the dragon raids, duh." Snotlout said, rolling his eyes.

"So you're training by killing some of the most peaceful creatures on the earth?" Dark asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Peaceful?!" Fishlegs yelled, his left eye twitching.

"These 'peaceful creatures' killed hundreds of us!" Tuffnut pointed out.

"AND WE'VE KILLED THOUSANDS OF THEM!" Dark cried out, his face contorting in rage.

"We've?" Astrid asked, her eyes narrowing at the dragon rider.

"We've," Dark confirmed, his eyes darting back and forth as if he almost let something slip. "Humans." Dark led the Zippleback to the entrance before stopping.

The Zippleback started to make clicking and hissing noises, and Dark responded with the same. He looked at the twins, and smirked slightly.

"Ruff, Tuff!" He called out. "Want a dragon?" The twins' eyes widened so that they were huge, round platters.

"Seriously?" Tuffnut asked. Dark nodded.

"They want you to ride them." He confirmed, gesturing to the Zippleback.

"Really?" Ruffnut said, looking suspiciously at the Zippleback. The dragon roared confirmation. The twins looked at each other, before shaking their head.

"We don't want to be labeled as a traitor like you." Tuffnut said, glaring at Dark. Said rider shrugged.

"Okay." He led the Zippleback out of the entrance, and the dragon took off into the air. Astrid looked at Dark strangely.

This man, who had come from nowhere, had offered to train a dragon for some complete strangers.

On top of that, he risked his life, and the life of his dragon, to save a dragon. Astrid smiled as Dark looked at her.

Life was about to get interesting.

* * *

**What do you think? Things are about to get interesting in Berk! Reviews, Follows, and Favorties are always welcome. **

**You guys have been awesome! I can't believe how many follows and favorites I have. It really warms my heart. **

**BookLover86, Out! ;)**


	5. Chapter 5-Dragon Nest

**Here it is! Chapter five! I can't believe that I'm this far so soon! This story has just flew by so far! **

**FYI, I posted a new story. ****It's called Movie of My Life, whic is a play of Story of My Life! ;) **

**It's a Watching-The-Movie FanFic, where the vikings and dragons watch the movie. **

**Hope you can check it out!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any H****TTYD content. I only own the plot!**

* * *

**_Chapter 5-Dragon Nest_**

"Dark! Get your butt down here now!" Astrid yelled, flipping her blond braid off her shoulder. Dark stumbled down stairs, his cloak gone, and his hair sticking up in every direction. He yawned and rubbed his emerald eyes.

"What?" He asked, his voice soft and sleepy.

"Breakfast." Astrid replied, pointing to the array she had prepared. His eyes widened as he took in the scene: A platter of eggs, boar bacon, and freshly toasted bread, with yak butter, and Dragonfire jam. **(A/N Dragonfire is a fruit that I made up. It's bright yellow with green and blue streaks on it. It's about the size of a baseball, and tastes like oranges, strawberries, and lemons mixed together.) **

"Why did you do this?" Dark asked, his head tilting in confusion.

"I'm your chaperone. I have to take care of you." Astrid said nonchalantly, grabbing two wooden glasses from the cupboard. Dark scowled at the word 'chaperone', but brightened when he looked at the breakfast again.

"No one has ever made breakfast for me." He said, coming the rest of the way down the stairs. Astrid heard a sleepy roar, and jumped as Toothless trotted down the stairs, coming to Dark's side.

"That dragon is going to be the death of me." She mumbled, grabbing the pitcher of water to set it on the table. Dark laughed; a deep and rich sound. Astrid felt a smile pull at her lips when Toothless looked up at her, his big green eyes pleading with her.

"What does he eat?" Astrid asked, reaching down to pet Toothless. He gladly accepted the affection, purring against her hand.

"Fish. His favorite is Icelandic cod or salmon, but never give him eel." Dark replied, stretching his back.

"Why not eel?" Astrid asked while walking to the fish basket. She snatched a plate, and piled the requested fish on the carved piece of wood.

"I learned that dragons don't like eel the hard way," Dark replied, stroking Toothless's head. "When I was training him, I brought him a basket of fish with a smoked eel in it, and he nearly gave us away." Astrid cocked her head.

"Gave you away?"

"I was training Toothless in secret. My village didn't like dragons, but I met him and we mutually decided to give each other a chance. If he roared louder, than they would've found us." Dark said, glaring at Toothless.

The Night Fury just looked out the window, and laughed in his throat. A bell dinged in Astrid's head, but she ignored it due to her amusement. She shook her head and laid the plate in front of Toothless. He looked at it, and started to gobble it up.

Astrid laughed at the greedy dragon, and took a seat at the table with Dark following her lead. They dug into the breakfast, each finishing within ten minutes.

"Alright. Today is your first day of dragon training," Astrid said, washing the dishes. "We'll go to Stoick and ask him for permission for you to join my group." Dark scowled.

"Do I have to?" He asked, his voice tight and angry. Astrid nodded.

"If you don't, I doubt Stoick will ever let you go back home." Dark immediately brightened as if he thought of an excellent idea.

"Alright. Let's go see Stoick." Astrid was surprised that a dragon rider would be so excited to start killing dragons, but shrugged nonetheless and started out the door. Dark followed her, with Toothless close behind him.

Dark didn't go anywhere without Toothless, and likewise. They came to Stoick's house and Astrid knocked on the dark door. Her knock was answered by Stoick. The chieftain's red beard was matted and his green eyes had dark bags underneath them.

"Hello Astrid," He said, his Scottish voice tired and weary. "What do ya want?"

"I came to talk to you about putting Dark in dragon training." Astrid said, gesturing to the man behind him.

"He'll obviously be in your gro-" Stoick started before Dark interrupted.

"Actually, I'd like to ask you something," Stoick nodded for Dark to continue. "I would like to visit my nest to tell the king that I will be staying here until you let me leave." Dark proposed. Stoick's eyes widened at the proposal, but eventually sighed.

"I'm no tyrant. How long does it take to get to your nest?"

"One day by dragon."

"Alright. You will be allowed two weeks to travel to your nest and back, so twelve days at your nest in total. I expect you to be here in approximately fourteen days. As for making sure you return..." Stoick said, before Dark put up a hand to stop him.

"I'm already ahead of you," Dark turned to Astrid. "How would you like to come with me to a dragons' nest?" Astrid was sure that her jaw dropped to the ground, but she looked at Dark and set her jaw.

"Why not?"

* * *

Astrid stuffed the last shirt into her pack, and swung it on her shoulder. She took a deep breath, and walked out of the house, catching the eye of Dark who was on Toothless's back.

"Ready?" He asked. She nodded, and checked to make sure her axe was secured on her back. When she was assured that her weapon was with her, she climbed onto Toothless's back behind Dark. Stoick came to see them off. He looked at Dark and nodded.

"Remember: Be back in approximately fourteen days." Dark nodded, indicating that he would remember.

"We will." He said, looking back slyly at Astrid. She glared at him, and he chuckled.

"Be careful." Stoick said looking woefully at the two. Astrid knew why. Both Astrid and Dark were the same age as Hiccup would be, and Astrid was the best dragon fighter. If she disappeared, there was no telling what would happen. Stoick wasn't to lose another child, after his lost his own.

"I promise that we'll come back." Astrid said, looking directly at Stoick. He nodded, and left.

"You might want to hold on," Dark said, looking forward. "Toothless likes to go fast." Astrid took the hint and wrapped her arms around his waist. She felt Toothless lean, and then he shot off.

Astrid screamed in shock, as she started to fall, but she regained her grip on Dark, hugging his abdomen even tighter. She heard Dark chuckle, and she glared a hole in the back of his head. Toothless was flying smoothly, and Astrid finally looked up.

The beauty of the flight was indescribable. The clouds were white and fluffy, and the sky was a bright blue. Astrid looked at the sun, which looked closer than ever before. It was very large and the color of Nadder fire.

Astrid swept her eyes downward to see a vast expanse of azure blue, tinted with a deep green. The ocean was bigger than she ever saw from the ships.

"Wow." Astrid whispered.

"Yeah," Dark agreed. "It's amazing every time you see it." The ride seemed to go on forever, but eventually Astrid saw a blue-green structure come into view. The structure was enormous ice spikes covering a large, gray mountain.

"What is that?" Astrid asked, her voice seeming small in comparison of the large mountain.

"It's my nest." Dark said. Astrid felt her heart rate speed up as Toothless flew into a hole in the side of the mountain. She heard her breathing, shallow and ragged, and she didn't dare open her eyes.

Toothless was flying deftly through a tight space, occasionally weaving back and forth. The walls seemed to be closing in, and Astrid squeezed her arms tighter around Dark's stomach.

Finally, the space seemed to open up, and Astrid heard screeches of nothing she'd heard before. She opened her eyes to see a enormous expanse of greenery, ice, and dragons. Not just any dragons that raided Berk, but unique dragons whom she'd never seen before.

Astrid felt her mouth drop into a perfect "o" as she took in her surroundings. Toothless rumbled happily once he saw a big, owl-faced dragon with four wings.

"Okay Toothless," Dark said, his voice happier than it's been on Berk. He slid off his excited dragon, and Astrid followed his lead. She helped him unhook all the saddle bags that Toothless had carried. "You can go play with Cloudjumper." **(A/N Okay, so Dark is living with his mom, but she went off on a journey for a month, which is why Dark wanted to come back to the nest so soon after landing on Berk.)**

Toothless gave Dark a gummy smile, before bounding off to hop on top of the brown dragon. Cloudjumper rumbled with amusement as Toothless fell off, and he bounded off with Toothless on his heels. Astrid looked around again, her brain not fully understanding all of it.

"This is where you live?" She asked, her eyes still wandering.

"Yep." Dark responded, popping the "p".

"What kind of dragon is that?" Astrid asked, looking directly at Cloudjumper.

"He's a Stormcutter, a gentle giant. Speaking of," Dark said, smirking at Astrid. "It's time you meet the king." Astrid felt her heart pound in her chest as she picked up the rest of the saddle bags, and followed Dark to a cliff. She stood at the edge, in awe of the dragon that was before her.

He had snow white skin, and ice blue eyes. His teeth were plentiful and sharp, but he looked peaceful and gentle. His body was ginormous, the biggest she'd ever seen. He had two white tusks protruding from his face. She saw Dark bow, his cloak covering his body.

"He is one of the very last of his kind: The Great Bewilderbeast. We all live under his care and protection." Astrid followed his lead, and bowed to the great dragon. When she stood, the dragon was looking at her. He breathed very lightly at her, coating her hair in thin ice.

"He likes you." Dark chuckled.

"Wow." Astrid whispered, running her hands through her hair, rubbing off the ice.

"He did that to me when I first came here too." Dark said, walking away from the king.

"Did he build this nest?" Astrid asked, picking back up her bags.

"Yeah." Dark responded.

"Where do you sleep?"

"I'll show you." Dark started to walk toward a opening in one of the walls. Astrid followed him down a cramped hallway, until it opened up into a large cavern.

It was made of a smooth, gray rock, with a fire pit in the middle. There were a couple of pillows sitting around the pit, with a bucket sitting to the side. In one corner was a stream of water flowing down a rock into a pool.

There was a straw cot hidden behind some rocks, with a couple of brightly colored blankets and a tiny stuffed Deadly Nadder on top. It would make sense, that a dragon rider would have a stuffed dragon toy.

A couple of chests sat near the bed, and a large pile of straw, grass, and a few blankets was settled in the nook of a couple of boulders. Astrid guess that's where Toothless slept, while Dark slept on the cot.

There was a closed basket next to a stone slab that jutted out of the wall, serving as a table. In a bucket of water, two plates and some sticks bobbed up and down.

"Nice place." Astrid said, remembering what Dark had said when he saw the house in Berk. Dark chuckled, and set his bags on the cot.

"You can sleep here." He mentioned, gesturing to someplace behind him. Astrid looked behind the rocks to see two cots instead of one. Dark's cot had green and black blankets on them, and the other one had blue and brown blankets.

"You have two beds?" Astrid asked, setting her bag on the bed.

"I get the occasional human dropping in from time to time," Dark commented nonchalantly. "I provide shelter and the protection of a Night Fury, and we trade sometimes."

Astrid nodded, and unstrapped her axe. She didn't think that the dragons would like her carrying a weapon, and she had a sneaking suspicion that she was going to be around them a lot.

"You hungry?" Dark asked offhand.

"Yeah." Astrid said her stomach confirming what she said.

"Good," Dark said, staring for the tunnel. "It's feeding time, and I'm getting low."

* * *

Next thing she knew, Astrid was on the back of Toothless, following all the other dragons to the ocean.

"I thought we were going to get food." Astrid said, glaring at Dark. He laughed and pointed to a mass of bubbles in the ocean.

Suddenly, the king rose from the sea with about ten thousand fish in his mouth. Before he hit the water, he spewed the fish out of his mouth, creating the illusion that the fish were raining down from the sky.

"Hold on!" Dark yelled. Astrid didn't have to be told twice, as she immediately wrapped her arms around Dark tighter, and Toothless shot down.

Dark grabbed the basket that was in the cavern earlier, and held it open, fish quickly filling the container to the brim. Dark closed it and strapped it to the saddle.

Astrid looked to the side to see Toothless with his mouth filled to the brim with fish. They set down in a snow bank, and Toothless spit some of the fish out so he could eat them.

As the Night Fury gobbled up his meal, Astrid and Dark sat down in the snow. Astrid rubbed her bare arms. She wished she had brought the heavier outfit she packed.

Dark must've saw her, because he detached his cloak and draped it over her shoulders. Astrid smiled gratefully at Dark, the cold quickly being chased from her body.

"I hope you brought a warmer outfit." Dark commented.

"I did. I just didn't think that it would be this cold." Astrid mumbled, wrapping the cloak around her body tighter. Dark laughed heartily at her comment. Astrid looked at him in awe.

At Berk, he was quiet, reserved, yet confident and stubborn. Here, he was more alive, laughing all the time, with a smile on his face and a special gleam in his emerald eyes.

As Astrid looked at the black haired dragon rider, her heart leapt. Maybe being a shield maiden wasn't as inviting as it seemed when dragons were mindless killing machines to her.

She looked at Dark, who was scratching Toothless's head, a lopsided smile on his handsome face. She smiled as Toothless purred contentedly, nudging his head against his rider.

Maybe being in a relationship wasn't particularly bad, as long as she was with someone she liked, and Dark made her heart soar like Toothless diving after those fish. Dark looked at Astrid, and she turned away, her cheeks heating slightly.

"If only he felt the same way." She muttered, fixing her eyes on a bright blue and yellow Nadder that flew into her line of sight.

"If only..."

* * *

**Things are heating up! I promise that the next chapter will be out ASAP.**

**BookLover86, Out! ;)**


	6. Chapter 6-The Second Dragon Rider

**I'm back! (Said in sing-song voice) **

**So this chapter is very special: It's in Dark/Hiccup's POV. I've gotten a lot of reviews, asking if Dark was Hiccup, so I wanted to clear the air. **

**Dark _is_ Hiccup, and this chapter should make everything a bit more easy to understand. **

**Here it is! Hope you like it! **

**If you do, I might do maybe one or two more chapters with Hiccup's POV in them, not just the whole chapter in his POV like this one.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own HTTYD. I only own the plot.**

* * *

**_Chapter 6-The Second Dragon Rider_**

Hiccup opened his eyes to the familiar gray of his home. He yawned, and stretched leisurely, sweeping the blankets off his leg and stump. He swung them both over the side of his cot, and attached his prosthetic leg.

He stood up, and looked behind him, opening his mouth the wake his mom, but stopping when he saw a blond head on top of the pillow instead of an auburn one.

He closed his mouth and smiled as the memories flooded back to him: He had been flying when he and Toothless spotted a village being attacked. They started to drive away the dragons, when they were shot down.

Turns out, the village was Berk, his birthplace, and of all the people who shot him down, it had to be Astrid Hofferson: The girl he had the biggest crush on when he lived there. He showed his face, but they didn't recognize him due to the five years of being gone, and him coloring his hair black with ash.

Hiccup agreed to answer all their questions, if Berk would let him and Toothless go free afterwards, and his dad agreed.

He convinced them that his name was Dark Ness, and he never even knew his dad, and his mom had died, which couldn't be further from the truth. He convinced his own father, of all people, that he never been to Berk before he was shot down, and do you know what?

His father decided to keep him at Berk, saying that he was sure more questions would arise. On top of that, he assigned Hiccup a chaperone! Hiccup was infuriated to say the least when it was announced.

He was surely less than pleased when Snotlout's hand instantly went up, but what changed everything was when Astrid's hand went up, and she became his new chaperone.

He stopped the teens from killing a dragon, and even tempted Ruff and Tuff to keep the Zippleback as their own dragon, but they declined, calling him a traitor.

Then, he convinced Stoick to let him come ack to his nest to tell the king where he would be, but he was just going to let his mom know where he was.

She was gone on a month-long trip, but when she got back, she would expect to see Hiccup. He was going to leave her a note telling her about his little adventure.

Stoick let him, but on the one fact that Hiccup had to take Astrid, but Hiccup was already planning on it. The one thing that made his plan even better, was when Astrid willingly agreed.

The flight to the nest was even better than living in the same house as his old crush. Astrid clung to his waist for dear life, and it made his heart soar like a free dragon. Maybe his feelings for her weren't completely gone.

When they got there, Astrid had reacted better than he ever expected. She was in awe, not fear or anger. The day had gone by pretty fast, with Hiccup showing Astrid how the dragons were fed, and a full tour of the nest.

Hiccup smiled wider as he caught up with his present self. He looked at Astrid's pale braid that was hanging off the bed, and her pretty face, which was resting gently on a pillow.

He turned his attention to his big black dragon, who was sleeping like a cat on his nest. Hiccup walked over to his dragon, and stroked the flat head. Black eyelids lifted to reveal sleepy big green eyes.

"Hey bud." Hiccup whispered. Toothless grumbled in reply, and turned over, wrapping his wings tighter around his body. Hiccup laughed, and walked back to the cots.

He slipped on a black leather tunic, and strapped his armor on. He only slept in his leather pants, due to how warm it was in the cavern.

He looked at Astrid, to see her still asleep, and then slid a box out from under his cot. He lifted off the lid, and peered inside. The box contained a small mirror, a paintbrush, and a jar of black ash.

He took out all three items, and put the mirror up to his hair. He inspected ever inch of his hair, and seeing that only a small part needed covered up.

He uncapped the jar, and coated the tip of the brush in the silky ash. He dabbed the brush across his hair, disguising his true auburn hair color.

Once he was done, he put everything away and slid the box back under his cot. He stood up, and looked to Astrid again. She was still asleep. Hiccup chuckled. That girl could sleep through anything.

"ASTRID!" He yelled, startling the used-to-be-sleeping viking. She snapped awake, and in a millisecond, had brandished her axe and was on her feet, ready to fight. Hiccup broke down laughing at her alertness, as her eyes slowly unclouded.

When she realized what had happened, she threw her axe down and stormed over to Hiccup. She punched his arm, then did it again. Hiccup quickly quieted down, rubbing the sore spot on his now bruised arm.

"What was that for?" Hiccup asked. She looked at him incredulously.

"Seriously?!" She asked, her voice raising slightly.

"Nope!" He said cheerily. She glared bloody murder at him, while he walked over to the fish, laughing to himself.

"Wake up Toothless!" He yelled to his dragon. Said reptile grumbled, and finally sat up. He looked at Hiccup, and grumbled incredulously.

"The drama queen awakens!" Hiccup said, bowing mockingly to Toothless. Toothless glared at Hiccup, and tried swat his head with his tail. Hiccup ducked, the tail passing by him harmlessly, but Toothless wasn't done.

He swept his tail underneath Hiccup's feet instead of his head. Hiccup fell on his back with a oomph.

"Like I said." He mumbled, standing up. Astrid was laughing, and Hiccup glared at her. He opened the lid to the fish, and pulled out about ten, piling them on the plate next to the basket.

He turned to Toothless, and set the plate of food before him. Once he was done, he grabbed a loaf of bread out of a sack, and started to cut it with a knife.

"How many slices?" He asked, digging the knife into the soft bread.

"Just one." Astrid replied, walking up to Hiccup. He handed her a thick slice, and cut off one for himself.

"So Dark," Astrid said, using his fake name. "What are we doing today?"

"Well, first, you need a warmer outfit-" He started.

"Check."

"And then we need to get you a dragon." She paled at the last statement.

"G-g-ge-get me a d-d-dra-dragon?" She stuttered, her ice blue eyes as wide as platters. Hiccup smirked at her scared face.

"Yeah. You can't keep riding around with me and Toothless." He pointed out.

"Why not?" She asked.

"Because soon, you're gonna be exploring the nest on your own, while me and Toothless are doing something else."

"I have to stay with you, because I'm your chaperone." She countered, putting her hands on her hips. Hiccup raised his hands in a surrender motion.

"I know, but do you really think that I would run away? This is my home." Astrid seemed to ponder this, and eventually nodded her head in agreement.

"Okay," She admitted. "Seems legit. When will we get me a dragon?"

"As soon as we get ready, and I'm ready so..." Hiccup said, smirking at Astrid. She glared at him in response.

"Yeah, yeah. I get the picture. Could you step out so I can get ready?" Hiccup nodded, and nudged Toothless.

"Come on bud." The Night Fury sat up and stretched his winds, finally following Hiccup out of the cavern. He hopped onto Toothless, slipping his foot and prosthetic into the stirrups.

"Let's go." Toothless shot off deeper into the nest, flying in the circular motion that all the other dragons were. Hiccup put his arms out in a horizontal position, the wind catching his body.

He sighed in bliss, the feeling of flying as if he were a dragon never got old. He pulled back the harness bars, and leaned forward.

"Want to try it again bud?" Toothless snorted unhappily.

"Toothless! It'll be okay." Hiccup reached his hand out to unhook himself from the harness, when he spotted a person standing on the ledge leading to his cavern.

The person had blond hair, and a red shirt. He smiled, and flew Toothless back down. When he saw Astrid, his jaw dropped to the floor.

She was wearing a crimson shirt, and a plain black skirt with another skirt over the first, only this one had spikes surrounding it. On her legs were black leggings, and fur boots rested on her feet.

On her shoulders were skull emblazoned shoulder pads, and large arm bands with fur covered her forearms. Attached to her shoulder pads was a large fur hood, which rested neatly on her neck and upper back.

He traveled his eyes to her head, where he saw her blond hair done in a elegant braid that trailed down her left shoulder. She had a leather band wrapped horizontally around her head, with her bangs falling down the left side of her forehead.

Her ice blue eyes gleamed with excitement, and her thin, pink lips were turned up in a smile. Hiccup smiled himself when he saw Astrid.

She was gorgeous, and Hiccup felt like the small, weak viking who could never do anything right when she looked that great.

Hiccup shook off the feeling though, because he knew that he was probably stronger than Astrid, he was no longer weak, and he was no longer a viking. He was a dragon rider who never gave up, never turned away, and never backed down from a challenge.

And that's what getting Astrid her own dragon was.

A challenge.

"Ready?" He asked, recovering from seeing Astrid in her new outfit.

"Yep." Astrid replied confidently, but he could see a gleam of fear in her eyes.

"It'll be fine." He said, and Astrid smiled gratefully at him.

"So, what kind of dragon were you thinking?" He asked, sitting down against a rock. Astrid slid down next to him.

"I don't know half of the species in here!" She complained.

"Then pick one from the species you do know." Astrid looked around at all the dragons. An orange Snafflefang waddled over to a drinking hole, as a bright red Zippleback did a flip in the air.

Her eyes focused on a group of Deadly Nadders playing a game of catch-the-rock. The gray rock flew towards a bright blue and yellow dragon, who caught the rock easily with her strong legs. Astrid smiled, and pointed to her.

"That one."

"The blue and yellow Deadly Nadder?" Hiccup asked to clarify.

"Yep." She confirmed, her smile finally reaching her eyes.

"Nice choice. She'll be a good friend." Hiccup stood up, and gave a Deadly Nadder call. The blue and yellow one looked at Hiccup, and mindlessly came to him with ease. Hiccup stopped the call as soon as she landed.

"Go up to her." Hiccup whispered to Astrid. She slowly walked up to the dragon. The Nadder saw her, and stared at her as Astrid approached.

"Reach out your hand." Hiccup told Astrid. She obliged, and reached out her hand to the dragon. The Nadder looked at her hand, which stopped only two inches before the Nadder's muzzle.

"Hi," Astrid whispered. "I'm Astrid. You sure are a pretty girl," The Nadder cocked her head as Astrid continued to talk. "We can be friends. All you have to do is trust me. Can you do that?"

As Astrid finished, the Nadder looked at her hand, and pressed her muzzle to her hand. Astrid gasped, and a smile spread across her face. The Nadder pulled back, and looked at Astrid with her bright, intelligent eyes.

"She's your dragon now." Hiccup said, walking up to the Nadder.

"Can I ride her though?" Astrid asked Hiccup. Hiccup translated to the Nadder, and the Nadder replied with a series of squawks, hisses, and trills. Hiccup smiled at Astrid.

"She says that she will let you ride her, and if she doesn't like you, than she won't be your dragon anymore." Astrid nodded and looked back at her dragon.

"Here," Hiccup said, walking over to Astrid. "I'll give you a boost." Hiccup helped Astrid up onto the Nadder, and the Nadder squawked.

"Okay, now just let the Nadder take off on her own." Hiccup said, standing back from the pair. Astrid braced herself, as the Nadder took off into the air. Hiccup could hear Astrid's whoops as she spiraled upward.

"Come on bud!" Hiccup said, as he slid onto Toothless's back and they shot off after Astrid. The four flew for what seemed like hours, but finally landed. The two people got off their respective dragons.

Hiccup asked the Nadder if she liked Astrid, and the Nadder responded with clicks and roars.

"So," Astrid asked, a nervous wake in her voice. "Does she like me?" Hiccup looked at her and smiled.

"Just one question: What's her name?" Astrid smiled.

"She likes me?" Hiccup nodded, and waited for Astrid to answer his question.

"She doesn't have a name?" Astrid asked Hiccup, her eyes clouded in confusion.

"No. Dragon babies aren't named most of the time." He replied. Astrid looked at her dragon, and smiled as the Nadder squawked and started to preen her wings.

"Stormfly," She said, stroking her dragon's nose. "Her name is Stormfly." Hiccup smiled at Astrid and Stormfly.

Nope.

His feeling definitely weren't gone. In fact, they were growing stronger. As Astrid smiled and petted her dragon, Hiccup's heart was flying like a dragon.

Astrid caught his eye, and he turned away blushing. He ran his hand over Toothless's head, and his dragon purred in response. He looked back at her.

Her beautiful eyes gleamed with happiness, and her elegant face held a soft smile, and slight dimples.

"If only she felt the same way." He muttered, looking at a ginger Monstrous Nightmare who was climbing up one of the nest walls.

"If only..."

* * *

**Ohh! What will happen next? :) You'll have to wait to find out! **

**How did you like the chapter in Hiccup's POV? Review and tell me. **

**The next chapter will be out ASAP!  
**

**BookLover86, Out! ;)**


	7. Chapter 7-Romance Is In The Air

**I'm baaaaack! And I'm bringing another chapter with me! So, this is what everyone (or just me) is waiting for! **

**Astrid and Hiccup finally make a move toward each other! In a good way! Onto the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any HTTYD content. I only own the plot!**

* * *

**_Chapter 7-Romance Is In The Air_**

"Stormfly!" Astrid yelled affectionately. Her dragon looked up from her romp in the water. Astrid lifted her soaking wet arms, and tried to shake off some off the liquid.

"Why did you do that?" Astrid asked, unable to fight the smile from her voice. Stormfly cocked her head, and puffed out her tail spikes. Astrid shook her head.

It had been only a few days since she had gotten Stormfly as her very own dragon, and Astrid hadn't been happier.

She saw a black speck in the sky, which quickly became Toothless, with Dark on his back. He landed gracefully on the ice next to her, and Dark got off of Toothless, catching sight of a soaking wet Astrid.

"What happened to you?" He asked, chuckling.

"Stormfly here decided to go and play in the water." Astrid grumbled, glaring at her dragon.

Stormfly just shook her wings, and looked at Astrid innocently. As Dark laughed, Astrid directed her glare at him.

"Let's go back to the nest," Dark said, getting back on Toothless. "I'll start up the fire to get you dried." Astrid smiled at Dark as she got aboard her dragon.

It was just like him to put her ahead of himself. He was so sweet, and Astrid was falling for him faster each minute.

So far, she'd fallen six feet under, and she was still digging. They took off and traveled into the cavern.

"You just rest," Dark said, sending Toothless away. "I'll get the fire." Astrid felt her cheeks heat up as she took of the hue of a tomato. She sat down on the floor near the pit as Dark lit the fire.

She felt the hot blast of the fire, and her skin tingled with warmth. Her already red skin refused to return to the true shade of her skin, as the fire warmed her skin even more.

"A little warm there Astrid?" Dark said, his voice full of laughter. She blushed even more, her ears extremely hot.

"Shut up." She managed through her embarrassment, which just made Dark laugh even harder.

* * *

"So," Astrid said, obviously desperate to change the subject. "How did you find this place?"

Hiccup swore he paled instantly at the question. How could he tell her without giving away who he really was?

His mind replayed what happened that fateful day.

* * *

It was five years ago. He and Toothless had been flying non-stop since they left Berk, and Hiccup could tell that Toothless was getting extremely tired.

"Just a little farther bud," Hiccup said, patting the side of his dragon's head. "When we find some land, we'll land and make a camp."

Toothless grumbled in reply, showing Hiccup that he still had some energy left, but it was dwindling fast. Hiccup scanned his surroundings, not seeing anything but a stretch of blue. He could very well never see the ocean again, and be happy about it.

"Come on. Come on." Hiccup whispered, his forest eyes desperate to see some sort of land that they could rest on. After a few minutes, there was nothing more than what he saw already: ocean.

Just when Hiccup was about to give up, a large dragon burst from the clouds, forcing Hiccup and Toothless to tread air. The dragon was owl-faced with large yellow eyes and four wings.

On the back of this magnificent dragon was a person dressed in a strange outfit. They wore a mask of a weird nature, with huge black eyeholes that covered up their eyes, and strange blue spikes.

"Steady bud." Hiccup whispered to Toothless, tightening his grip on the harness. He kept his eyes on the person, until he was felt his body being lifted up from Toothless.

He watched in abject horror as his best friend fell two hundred feet and crashed through the ice, submerging in water.

"Hey! That's my dragon. You can't leave him here. He can't fly on his own!" Hiccup cried, small tears making their way down his cheeks as he was carried away from Toothless. He looked up to see a strange dragon carrying him; one he'd never seen.

He tore his eyes away, and focused them on the depressing, dark ocean that churned beneath him. He just frowned at the sea, until a giant blue-green structure came into view.

It was a mountain covered almost completely in humongous blue-green ice spikes, and they were headed straight for it. They entered through a large opening, and the strange dragon dropped him quite ungracefully.

"Where is he?" Hiccup asked, looking around frantically. "Where is Toothless?" He kept on asking where Toothless was and looking around until the lady stepped off her dragon, and approached him.

"Who are you?" Hiccup asked, his voice frightened. The woman didn't respond, but she continued to slowly walk toward him.

"Do you even understand what I'm saying?" He asked, getting more confident with every word.

The strange woman didn't respond, but she swung the mysterious staff she held in her hand in a special pattern, and ended with it banging on the ground, the tiny balls shaking slightly.

A roar sounded over the mountain, and a large dragon came into view, a smaller black dragon trapped in it's claws. The black reptile was dropped onto the ground with a thump, and Hiccup rushed over to him.

"Toothless! You're okay." The dragon grumbled, and licked Hiccup's face. "Who are you?!" Hiccup said to the woman, more forcefully than before. The woman cocked her head, and gasped.

"Hiccup?" She said, her voice having a slight accent. Hiccup gasped himself.

"How do you know my name? Should I know you?" He asked. The woman took off her mask, revealing a woman with auburn hair and green eyes like Hiccup's own.

"No, but a mother never forgets." Hiccup gasped, his heart beating wildly.

"You're my mother?" The woman nodded.

"Come with me." She traveled to a cavern, with Hiccup and Toothless following her. "

You could stay here, with me. Learning about dragons for the rest of our lives." She said, her smile brightening her eyes by tenfold. Hiccup looked at her, and for once in his life, felt like he belonged.

"Why not?"

From then on, he lived with his mom, and he'd never been happier.

* * *

Hiccup then remembered that Astrid was still there, and he looked back at her.

"Luck," He said, addressing her. "I found it accidentally. I guess I was just meant to live here."

* * *

Astrid smiled as Dark answered her. For about a minute, he was just staring off into space, before he finally said something.

It seemed like he belonged here, among the dragons, so it wasn't hard to believe that he found this place incidentally.

"How about we go out flying?" Astrid asked, standing up.

"Your clothes dry?" Dark asked, standing up beside her.

"Not fully, but what better way to dry them then by flying?" She said, starting out of the cavern, with Dark at her heels.

"Point taken." Dark replied. He put his hands to his mouth, and made a series of weird roars and hisses.

Astrid heard an identical roar, and Toothless appeared from behind a rock, where he was obviously taking a nap. He trotted over to his rider, and nuzzled his hand.

"Stormfly!" Astrid yelled cupping her hands to her mouth. Her dragon flew down to her out of the mass of dragons flying.

"Hey girl," Astrid said, petting Stormfly. "Want to go flying?" The Nadder squawked excitedly, and Astrid climbed onto her back. She looked at Dark, to see him seated on top of his Night Fury.

Toothless took off, with Stormfly close behind. Astrid sighed once they were outside. The air felt perfect on her skin, and she smiled instinctively. It was about five minutes, before Dark flew up next to her.

"Follow me," Dark said, smiling at Astrid. "I want to show you something." Dark turned sharply, and started to fly off in a completely different direction. Astrid pulled on Stormfly's reins, turning her to follow Dark.

They flew over nothing but ocean, not a single thing in sight. Astrid was starting to think that Dark was crazy, when a tall sea stack came into view.

Dark steered Toothless upward, with Astrid doing the same. They landed their dragons on top, and got off.

"Why did you want me to see this?" Astrid asked, frowning at Dark. He smiled in return, and pointed to the sky.

"Best place ever to see the sunset." Astrid turned her attention to the sky, and saw that he was right.

The golden sun was disappeared behind blood red, fire orange, and pale yellow clouds, which were tinted with light purple and soft pink splotches. Astrid swore her jaw dropped to the ground as she gazed at the beautiful sight before her. Dark chuckled softly at her reaction.

"Yeah," He whispered, looking at the pale moon, which was rising in a black setting. "It's pretty cool, isn't it." Astrid gaped at him.

"Pretty cool?!" She asked, unbelieving. "This is amazing!" She walked in front of him, and gestured all around her. She continued to walk back instinctively, and her foot slipped. In the blink of an eye, she was falling through the air.

Someone grabbed her hand forcefully, and pulled her back onto the cliff. She fell against Dark's chest, clutching his arms desperately.

She looked back at what would've been her death, her heart beat slowly going back to its normal pace. She looked at Dark with wide eyes, her breathing labored.

"You have to be more careful." Dark said, his eyes narrowing in concern, his voice shaking as he warned her. Astrid smiled weakly at him.

"Thanks for saving me." She said, her iron grip slowly loosing.

"I would do anything for you." Dark admitted, smiling shyly at her. She smiled wider at his words. Did he really like her? There was only one way to find out.

She leaned up, and pressed her lips to his. His lips were smooth, and tasted like the open air. Dark kissed her back, gently bringing her closer to him. Astrid broke the kiss, and grinned widely at him. He returned the smile.

"So," He began. "I didn't think you liked anyone," Astrid frowned at his words. "You're always so violent to everybody."

At that, she blushed, but quickly regained her regular skin color.

"How do you know that?" She asked, a worm of worry weaseling its way into her mind.

"I was on Berk for two days, where I met Snotlout, the twins, and Fishlegs. None of them are particularly good at keeping secrets." He said, laughing.

Astrid made a mental note to kill them later, but she just focused on on the fact that Dark liked her.

"So, I guess that makes me your boyfriend?" Dark asked nervously, scratching the back of his neck. Astrid smirked at him, and tried to conceal her blush.

"I don't know." She said, looking sideways at him. She kissed him again, this time more confident of herself. When she pulled back, Dark had a grin like no other on his face.

"Does that answer your question?" She asked, putting her hands on his shoulders. He smirked and slipped his arms around her waist, pulling her even closer to him.

"Maybe, but I need to be sure of it." He mused, smirking at her. She glared at him playfully, when he pressed his lips against hers.

Okay.

This wasn't so bad.

* * *

Hiccup looked over to Astrid, who looked dead tired on her dragon. Stormfly was basically flying by the lead of Toothless. He chuckled at his girlfriend, his heart warming when he looked back at her.

Hiccup still couldn't believe that fifteen years of trying to get Astrid to like him back failed, while him going away from five years, then coming back, getting Astrid her own dragon, and admitting his feelings to her could finally get her to be his girlfriend. It was weird, but Hiccup liked it.

The first time that she kissed him, made him feel more nervous than when he first met Toothless. It was unreal the way she made him feel.

They got back to the nest, and the dragons landed. Hiccup got off of Toothless, and when he looked to Stormfly, he saw Astrid fast asleep on her back.

"Oh Astrid." Hiccup chuckled, walking over to the Deadly Nadder. Stormfly kneeled down, and Hiccup picked up Astrid in his arms. She was lighter than Hiccup expected, and he adjusted her so she was resting neatly in his arms.

He motioned for Toothless to follow him, while Stormfly went off on her own. The two walked into the cavern, with Hiccup walking to the cots, and Toothless going to his nest.

He pulled back the blankets of his mother's cot, and laid Astrid on the soft mattress. Hiccup settled the blankets over his girlfriend, and looked at her.

Her head was resting nicely on the pillow, and her hair slipped out behind her head. Some bangs fell on her forehead, and Hiccup brushed them away. He planted a kiss on her forehead, and stepped back to look at her again.

She looked beautiful sleeping, like a true angel. Hiccup smiled, and took of his armor. He slipped off his tunic, and unattached his prosthetic. He climbed into his bed, and wrapped the blankets around his body.

As he drifted off into a pleasant sleep, his mind wandered to a beautiful blonde who rode a Deadly Nadder, and who stole his heart.

* * *

**I've been waiting to write this chapter for a long time! I love Hiccstrid, but don't worry. **

**The story won't get boring now that they are together. Instead, quite the opposite. **

**Next chapter out ASAP! See you later!**

**BookLover86, Out! ;)**


	8. Chapter 8-Leaving?

**Sorry that this chapter is so late. I'm working on a one-shot called Beggin' On Your Knees. **

**When I post it, I recommend you check it out. I might be a little bit until I can get the next chapter out, and you'll hate me for it. **

**I know, because I wrote the ending. You can say I'm feeling a bit evil today. :)**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own HTTYD or its characters. I only own the plot that I pulled from the hodgepodge of ideas called my brain. **

**Onto the chapter!**

* * *

**_Chapter 8-Leaving?_**

Astrid finished putting her clothes in her bag, and she swung it on her back. She walked outside to see Dark and Toothless, waiting for her.

"Time to go." He said, looking around sadly.

"Yeah," Astrid replied. "Will you come back here when Stoick lets you leave?" Dark looked at her with a tender look.

"I might just stay. After all, I've got an excuse to." He said, smiling slyly at her. Astrid blushed at his words, and adverted her eyes, desperate to change the subject. Her eyes found Stormfly, and she got the excuse she needed.

"What about Stormfly?" Astrid asked, walking over to her Deadly Nadder. "I can't take her with me." She said, petting Stormfly's head. The dragon purred at the contact, making Astrid smile.

"No you can't, and she'll be safe here." Dark said, walking up beside her.

"So I leave her?" Astrid asked, looking sadly at Stormfly.

"Yeah. Don't worry though. If you're in danger, she'll be next to you in an instant." Dark reassured.

"But Nadders aren't fast." Astrid countered.

"Each dragon flies at the speed of sound when their rider is in danger." Dark said, slipping into the saddle on Toothless's back.

Astrid hugged Stormfly, and got on behind Dark. She slipped her arms around his waist, and leaned her head on his shoulder.

Toothless took off, flying into the bright sky. Astrid looked back sadly, thinking of Stormfly. She turned forward, looking at Dark, and smiled. She'll be fine.

* * *

Hiccup was enjoying the flight, when Toothless's ear plates perked up.

"What is it bud?" Hiccup asked, rubbing his head. The Night Fury didn't answer, but he dived down into a swarm of wild dragons. Hiccup instinctively ducked down, with Astrid following him.

"What is he doing?" Astrid asked, her voice scared.

"Taking us to the new queen." Hiccup breathed.

"What?" Astrid said incredulously.

"Me and Toothless defeated the old queen, but there is a new one. This is how we found the old queen, so I bet he's taking us to the new one." Hiccup explained, fixing his eyes on the Nightmare in front of them.

A tall volcano came into view, and all the dragons flew into it. Toothless veered off, and landed on the shore. Hiccup quickly got off, and grabbed his notebook. He started to messily sketch the landmarks around it, and the volcano itself.

"What are you doing?" Astrid asked.

"Getting the landmarks down. I have a feeling we'll need to find this again." Hiccup replied. Toothless let out a slight roar, and Hiccup slipped his notebook back into his suit. He didn't have any more time.

"Get on!" He yelled at Astrid, hopping into his dragon's saddle. Astrid obeyed, slipping her arms around his waist. "Go bud." Hiccup whispered.

Toothless shot off into the air, sailing smoothly into the thin air.

"We have to tell Stoick." Astrid said, leaning against Hiccup. He winced at the mention on his father. Knowing him, he would immediately attack, killing many innocent dragons.

"No. He'll kill those dragons. We have to save them." Hiccup protested, turning Toothless toward Berk.

He'd flown over the island many times and knew the best way to stay hidden. Hiccup landed Toothless in a shady spot where no Berkian would find them. Astrid got off, and looked expectantly at Hiccup.

"Are you coming Dark?" She asked. He grimaced. He wished he could tell her who he truly was, but that wouldn't work. It would destroy everything.

"I'm leaving." Hiccup whispered.

"What?" Astrid sputtered. "But you promised Stoick that you would stay until he let you go."

"Yeah, but if he finds out about this nest, a lot of good dragons will die for a rotten cause. How would you feel if you were the ones raiding the dragons, but only because it was that, or death, and then the dragons come in to kill all of you so you won't raid them anymore, huh? Seems pretty stupid to me." Hiccup countered, glaring at the village of Berk.

Astrid laid her hand on his leg, making him meet her bright eyes.

"That's exactly why you have to come back to Berk. If you don't, Stoick will surely attack, but if you do, then you can stop him from attacking-"

"How?" Hiccup cried. "He won't do anything I suggest. I'm an outsider. It's obvious, and it won't change. It never did." Astrid looked at him weirdly, but shook her head.

"There's one thing that he won't be able to resist." Astrid mused.

"What?"

"You help us train the dragons."

"What?!" Hiccup asked incredulously. Astrid sighed.

"It's not such a bad idea. You help us train the dragons, and Stoick will surely let you leave. You have to do it," Astrid pleaded.

Hiccup still must've looked doubtful, because she gave him the puppy dog eyes.

"For me?" She asked. Hiccup knew that Astrid hated to seem weak or pleading, so this must be important to her. He sighed, defeated.

"Fine." He agreed. Astrid smiled brightly.

"Great! Let's go!" She started to walk toward Berk, but Hiccup grabbed her arm.

"We take the high road." Hiccup said, smiling. She smiled back, and hopped back onto Toothless, hooking her arms around his waist.

They took off, flying into the air. Landing in the middle of the town, villagers quickly cumulated around them.

Stoick pushed through the crowd, his red beard looking even more matted. His green eyes drooped, as did his posture.

"Good. You're back," Stoick said, his voice relieved. "Come on Astrid. You have to help pack." Astrid silently got off Toothless, making Hiccup sputter with disbelief.

"What are you doing?"

* * *

Astrid winced as Dark as the question she was dreading.

"We're leaving Berk." Stoick said firmly. After he said that, he swept away to pack his own.

"You're leaving Berk?" Dark asked, his voice soft.

"The dragon attacks are more frequent and dangerous and we can't risk anymore lives. Stoick is doing the best for Berk." Astrid protested, trying to make him understand, but he just shook his head angrily.

"You can't leave! I have to go back to my nest soon, and if you leave, I might lose my nest!" Dark cried, looking at Astrid.

"That's the thing," She whispered. "You're free to go back to your nest. Stoick obviously doesn't have any more questions for you. Goodbye Dark."

Astrid started to walk away, but a screech from the sky stopped her. She looked up to see a couple Gronckles dive-bombing a sheep pen. She sighed, but lifted her hands to her mouth nonetheless.

"DRAGON RAID!" She called to the vikings. Warriors poured out of the empty houses, bearing weapons and scowls. Dark looked frightened at all of them.

"No!" He cried, flying around the villagers. "Don't hurt them! They're just trying to survive!"

No one listened, and someone threw a spear, embedding itself in a Gronckle's side. The dusky colored dragon started to fall, its eyes glazing over. Dark gasped, and shot toward the injured dragon.

The Gronckle fell onto the ground, heaving with pain, blood pouring out of its side. Dark jumped off of Toothless and fell on his knees at the dragon's side. It was already dead. Dark lifted his head, his eyes filled with grief, his features etched in anger.

He hopped back onto Toothless, and the two of them flew into the air. They started to shoot blasts at the dragons; not to hurt them, but to drive them away.

The dragons retreated, but one stayed behind. It was a blue and yellow Nadder, with intelligent golden eyes. Astrid gasped, and staggered her way through the crowd. Dark must've seen her too, because he was soon by her side, running with her.

"What's she doing here?" Astrid asked, her voice thick with emotion.

"She must've heard your cry. You sounded distressed." Dark said, his voice tight and controlled. An older man saw the Nadder, and started toward it with an axe, ready to kill.

"No!" The plea was torn from Astrid's throat. The man turned around to see two young people rushing toward him.

"You can't kill that dragon." Dark said stopping in front of him. The man scowled grumpily.

"I've killed tens of dragons in my time. Killing one more won't hurt their herd. They never go away." He growled to Dark. Meanwhile, Astrid ran to the Nadder, who caught sight of her. The blue dragon started to rush toward Astrid.

"ASTRID!" Stoick yelled, scared for the young girl. Astrid reached the Nadder and flung her arms around its neck.

"What are you doing here Stormfly?" Astrid asked, tears coming out of her eyes.

She knew she would be labeled as a traitor when she claimed Stormfly as her friend, but she couldn't let the Nadder die.

Never in her lifetime.

Stormfly cooed to Astrid, nuzzling her neck. Astrid heard gasps from all around her, and then she felt two strong hands pull her off of Stormfly.

She struggled to get back to her dragon, but the person held her still. She looked back to see Stoick's surprised face.

"Let me go!" Astrid growled at the chief, shocking him even more.

"No." Stoick said, his voice firm.

"You can't kill her." Astrid protested raggedly.

"It's a dragon," Stoick said shortly. "It has to die. We can't support the village and _two_ dragons."

Astrid started to cry as a viking hefted a hammer, aiming at the unsuspecting dragon. Dark stepped in front of Stormfly shielding her. Astrid sobbed with relief.

Dark would not let Stormfly die. She knew that. The viking glared at Dark.

"Move out of the way." He snipped. Dark shook his head violently, his green eyes narrowed hatefully.

"Get him." Stoick whispered to another viking. He nodded and charged Dark, tackling him to the ground. The hammer wielding viking threw his hammer, aiming for Stormfly's head.

Then, a dark blur jumped in front of the Nadder, the hammer hitting it. It crumpled to the ground, the hammer thudding next to it. Astrid screamed and tore away from her captors.

She threw herself on the heap, brushing the hair away from his eyes.

His green eyes were closed, and his black hair was matted with blood.

Astrid turned Dark's head to see a large gash on the side of his head, bleeding steadily. Pressing her head against his chest, she heard a steady thumping sounding in his chest. She looked up at a stunned crowd.

"You could've killed him," She whispered, her voice tight and laced with venom. "You could've killed him!"

She set his head on the ground and launched herself onto the man, screaming insults and profanities.

Everyone gasped and struggled to get her off of him. When they finally did, she raced back to Dark, who was lying on the ground.

"Why are you just standing there? Get help! We have to help him!" Astrid yelled at the crowd.

As everyone started to rush around to get Gothi or do something or other, she cradled his head, his eyes still closed and his heart beating steadily.

"I love you." She whispered, her tears falling onto his face. She cried, and pressed her head against his chest, wanting to fell its warmth, but feeling a disturbing cold.

Then she heard his heartbeat, and her face paled instantly.

_Thump..Thump..Thump...Thump...Thump...Thump...Thump...Thump..._

* * *

**I know it's short and not my best work. Sorry bout that.**

**Next chapter out ASAP!  
**

**BookLover86, Out! ;)**


	9. Chapter 9-Who Are You?

**I'm baaack! As you can guess by the chapter title, this is gonna be the big one! I hope you enjoy! Next chapter out ASAP.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own HTTYD. I only own the plot.**

* * *

**_Chapter 9-Who Are You?_**

Astrid stroked Stormfly's nose, trying to advert her mind from her inured boyfriend. After Dark's heartbeat had slowly started to stop, she went berserk.

Yelling at everyone, attacking anyone who touched her, and hissing at the bystanders until they got help for Dark. Even after he was placed under the island's best healers care, she said nothing, growling at almost everyone who talked to her.

Once they assured her that Dark would live she finally calmed down, and her face's vicious expressions was wiped away, and a worried frown was etched on her lips. She asked for an update every hour and got the same answer: He's recovering.

She begged for more detail, but they refused to give her any. Astrid jumped as a wooden door was opened. Gobber came out of Dark's room with a small smile.

"Can I see him?" She asked, her eyes wide and pleading. Gobber nodded, and she let out a breath of relief.

Telling Stormfly to stay, she bolted into the room. Gobber had been the only one in the room besides Toothless, as there had to be a human guard with Dark in case he woke up.

He had been unconscious ever since the hammer hit him. It was basically like throwing a ten-pound stone at someone's head, which could kill a full grown man. It was a miracle that he was just unconscious.

Astrid approached his bed, Toothless giving a sad grunt at the sight of her. When she saw him, her heart plummeted.

His face was ashen and his skin tinted a sickly blue. His lips were an obvious light blue and parted slightly as if to say something.

Bandages were wrapped around his head so much that you could barely see his black hair, but it looked to be tinted brown considering all the blood that poured out of his wound.

His hands were resting on his skinny chest, knuckles white and raising with his chest as Dark breathed shallowly. Blankets bundled him up to his armpits and his head was laid on a thick pillow.

Astrid sat down on the rickety chair next to his bed, silently taking his hand. It felt like lead in her hand, cold and heavy.

She squeezed it, hoping to see some sort of alertness in the brave Dragon Rider, but seeing nothing other than closed eyelids and light breathing.

Grasping his hand in both of hers, she brought them to her forehead, tears trickling down her cheeks slowly. She lowered his hands and looked at him again.

"Hey," She said, her voice thick and cracking. "It's me, Astrid. I thought you would like to know that you saved Stormfly. They left her alone once you got hit. Thank you for that,"

Taking a deep breath, she continued with a pained voice.

"But why did you do it? You could've died, Dark. I know that you love dragons, but is this war worth losing your own life?"

The tears fell out of her eyes faster, dripping onto her cheeks in streams.

"I know that I haven't known you for long, but I feel like I've known you almost my entire life. There's this..this...familiarity with you. Like...I know who you are, but I don't _know_ who you are. But I sure wish I could learn. So...please wake up. For me?"

Astrid couldn't take it anymore, she broke down sobbing. Before she completely lost it, she had to get the last thing she wanted to say out of her mouth.

"I love you." She whispered, the tears blurring her vision and masking her voice. Very dimly, she noticed her hand being squeezed.

Flipping her head up, her red rimmed blue eyes met weary emerald green ones. Astrid almost went crazy with relief, breathing rapidly and not being able to form coherent words.

His pale lips turned up in a tired smile as he gazed at her.

"I love you too." He breathed to her.

Astrid hyperventilated excitedly, and smiled widely at him. When his smile grew, her world was finally right again.

* * *

"Please?" Dark asked again. Astrid sighed at her boyfriend's antics. It had been about a week since he woke up, and he was getting more restless by the day.

"I already told you ten times. No."

"Why not?" He whined.

"Because you have to stay in bed until that gash heals up decently." Astrid replied, going back to her carving. She had found an unusual solace in carving since Hiccup left.

Sure, she still was violent and aggressive, but in her private time, she grabbed a piece of wood and etched shapes, words, pictures into the grains.

Her first piece had been a picture of the young viking-missing at that time-which she threw into the ocean once he was pronounced dead. To say the least, it made her feel guilty whenever she looked at it.

Right now, she was working on a carving of Toothless. He had fallen asleep on the floor, and Astrid was trying to preserve how cute and harmless he looked.

As she was digging her dagger into the wood to outline his head, Dark interrupted her.

"What happened to the blacksmith's apprentice?" Dark asked out of the blue.

"What?" Astrid said.

"When you gave me a tour of Berk, you told me that the blacksmith's apprentice had died. How?"

"Well," Astrid said, putting her wood and knife down. "His name was Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. He was the village embarrassment, but you'll never guess his father."

"Gobber?"

"No; Stoick. His father was the chief of the village. When Hiccup was born, he was so small and they thought he wouldn't live, but he did. Sometimes I wondered if his father wished he didn't."

"Why?"

"Because he was one of the worst vikings ever seen. He messed up dragon attacks, and practically everything else. When he was five, Stoick put him as Gobber's apprentice in hopes that he would become stronger and more interested in killing dragons, but his hopes were destroyed. He was scrawny, weak, scared, but smart. He possibly was one of the smartest vikings.

One raid, he claimed to shoot down a Night Fury, but no one believed him. A few days after, Hiccup was put in dragon training with me, Fishlegs, Snotlout, and the twins. No one thought he would make it though, but surprisingly, he was one of the best after a few days.

He drove a Zippleback away by just telling it too, took down a Gronckle with a stiff arm, a Nadder with no weapon, and drove a Terror back into its cage with a shield. He became the best in the ring.

I'll admit it; I was jealous of him. Before Hiccup started to show skill, I was the best. He weaseled his way into my spot and was chosen to kill the Monstrous Nightmare, an honor which I thought I should've had.

I got it in the end, because later that day, Hiccup disappeared. He left nothing but a note for us to try and track him. We couldn't find him at all, and he was proclaimed dead. Stoick never healed from the heartbreak that Hiccup left him."

"What about Hiccup's mother?"

"Dead. She was taken away by a dragon, when Hiccup was a baby, and killed. Stoick was all he had, and Hiccup was all Stoick had. He's still a good chief, but he's more of a shell than a viking.

Even worse, he refuses to pick a successor for Berk. If a successor is not chosen before Stoick dies, war breaks out. Gobber also refuses to take on a new apprentice. He comments all the time how hard the work is without Hiccup, but he never mentions getting an apprentice.

Gobber was possibly his only friend, and he was basically a father to Hiccup. Stoick was never fatherly towards Hiccup until he started to show skill in dragon training. And that is who Gobber's apprentice was." Astrid finished her story.

She had been watching Dark's face throughout the story. It was mostly stuck in a mad frown, but when Gobber was mentioned, he smiled a little.

When Stoick was mentioned, his face seemed to darken, which is quite unlike when she described how Hiccup took down the dragons, which made his face light up like the sun.

"Wow. That must've been hard for him." Dark mused.

"I don't know." Astrid admitted. She picked her carving back up, but Dark beat her too it.

"Let's go outside now."

"No."

"But you said that it would be only three days until I could get up," He countered. "It's been a week." Astrid sighed, but put her wood to the side again.

"Let me change your bandage, then we can go outside. Get dressed while I get the stuff." She said as a compromise. She laid a pair of clothes on Dark's bed and left the room to let him dress in peace.

Wetting the rag she had, she found the roll of bandages that Gothi had left. She wrung the rag out and walked back to Dark's room. She knocked on the door.

"Can I come in?" She asked.

"Yeah." Came the muffled reply. Opening the door, she saw Dark dressed in an light green tunic and brown pants. Seeing him that way reminded her of Hiccup.

In fact, the two looked like they could be brothers. Astrid saw the same nose, the same face shape, the same floppy hair, and the same lean build. She frowned at the thought, but quickly put on a smile and walked over to him.

He looked very uncomfortable in the clothing, but they looked like they fit him perfectly, so Astrid wondered what made him so on edge.

"Sit down please," She said. He obliged and she sat next to him. "Can you turn your head toward me?" She asked, which he obeyed.

She gently unwrapped the bloody bandage, taking care to look at his face, watching for glimpses of pain. His face was stoned while she took the soiled white strips off his head.

The previously bloodied gash was now skinned over with a smooth white scab, not yet hardened enough to become black. The outline of the soon-to-be scar was deep red, showing that it was still sensitive.

Otherwise, it looked good. The healers told her to look out for yellow and green coloring, big lumps in the scab, and non-stop bleeding. **(A/N I have no idea if this is back, but it sounds bad to me. I haven't had enough injuries to tell you, so do not look to this for advice)**

"It looks good," She commented, grabbing the wet rag. "Let me just wash the dried blood off your hair, rewrap your head and then we'll be off."

She carefully dabbed the scar, taking off some dried blood, and then started to gently scrub his hair. When she took off the rag to rub at some other spots, she realized that her rag was not only colored a dark red, but also a midnight black.

The same color as Dark's hair.

Her heart started to race nervously, and she lifted her eyes to his head.

The place where she had cleaned off the dried blood was no longer a pure black, but a playful auburn.

She stood up abruptly and exited the room, saying that she needed to wet the rag again. She stopped in the hallway, sliding her back down the wall. She felt tears start to slip out of her eyes.

Dark's hair was not black, but auburn.

He had been disguising his true hair color, but why? She already knew the answer, but didn't want to admit it to herself.

Despite what she wanted, she had to come to terms with the answer: He was trying to hide who he really was. The thought burned her heart; she had fallen in love with a fake.

She raked her mind for people who wouldn't want to be found. The only option that came up ... was Hiccup.

They never saw him leave on a boat, which could only mean that he never left Berk. He claimed to have shot down a Night Fury, which could very well be Toothless. That might be the reason Toothless had a prosthetic tail!

The similarities she spotted between Hiccup and Dark were now very apparently real. That's why he looked so uncomfortable in the clothing. It was almost identical to what Hiccup wore before he disappeared.

Dark being Hiccup would also explain his interest in the blacksmith's apprentice that Astrid mentioned. Most people would shrug it off, but it stuck in his head.

If what Astrid thought was true, then that means that Dark lied when he answered the questions. Astrid touched her cheeks to find them wet with tears. She quickly wiped them away and stood up.

If she was to prove this, she had to know for sure. Walking briskly to the bathroom, a plan brewed. She wet the rag, soaking it with cold water, but making sure that she didn't ring it out.

She walked back to Dark's room to see her boyfriend sitting on the bed, staring out the window. Her chest tightened when she realized that if Dark was Hiccup, that means she fell in love with a traitor, an outcast.

She forced a smile on her face and sat down beside Dark.

"Okay. Let me just get this one spot, and we'll go." Astrid said, pressuring her voice to stay calm. Dark nodded mutely, seeming to be in deep thought.

She took a deep breath and held the rag above his head. Stretching it out and folding it, she positioned it above the crown of his head.

With one fluid movement, she wrung it out, cold water pouring down onto Dark's head. He jumped up and whipped around to face Astrid, weak fury in his eyes.

"What in the name of Thor was that for?" He yelled, shaking his head furiously. Astrid watched in pure horror as the black in his hair slid out, revealing a lovely auburn.

When Dark brought his eyes to hers, she could see that he was frightened. Astrid pointed a shaking finger at him, scared to use her voice, but forcing sound to come out of her dry throat.

"It _is_ you." She whispered. Dark adverted his eyes, sighing. When he lifted his eyes again, she saw pain and regret in them.

"I was beginning to wonder when you would figure it out," He mumbled painfully,

"You guessed it," He straightened, showing off his tall build,

"I'm not Dark Ness." He took a breath,

"I am Hiccup."

* * *

"But...but you...you're dead." Astrid countered, her voice shaking. Hiccup sighed and walked over to the closet. He grabbed a towel and started to dry his hair, taking off even more of the black coloring.

"We need to talk," He said, shaking his head slightly. "Please sit down." Hiccup sat down on the side of the bed, and Astrid sat down next to him.

"Why did you lie to me?" She asked, tears starting to fall again on her cheeks.

"Because I couldn't trust you," Hiccup replied. "I was gone for five years, and I had no idea if you had changed. I didn't think it at first, cause you were the one to shoot me and Toothless down.

However, all my thoughts on you changed when you volunteered to be my chaperone. I thought that you wouldn't give me the time of day, but then you decided you wanted to be around me all day. It was shocking to say the least."

Astrid looked away, her face wet and gleaming.

"Who are you?" She said, straining the small, but powerful words.

"I don't even know," Hiccup sighed. "Sometimes I think that I'm a traitor to Berk, and other times, I think I'm the only future of it."

"Start at the beginning," Astrid decided. "Start from when you left Berk."

Hiccup took a deep breath, and started his story.

"I had to get away. I couldn't take it anymore; Toothless being my best friend and me going to be forced to kill a dragon. I just could not do it, so I left with Toothless. When me and Toothless left, we flew south of Berk, hoping to find some sort of shelter or village where we would be nameless strangers. What we found was ten times better than that."

"Let me guess: the dragon nest?"

"Close. My mother."

Astrid looked at Hiccup as if he'd grown a third head.

"But ... your mother died when you were a baby. _Everyone_ knows that story. It was the first thing that broke the chief. He was okay because he had you, but when you left? He kept on being a chief to Berk, yet ... he never was the same. He isolated himself from us, almost as if his heartbreak was contagious." Astrid said; her voice catching in her throat.

Hiccup almost couldn't continue with his monologue, but he knew that he had to; for Astrid.

Forcing sounds to try and come out of his choked up throat made his words sound raw and slurred. Nevertheless, it wasn't the sound effects that Astrid wanted, but the truth, and Hiccup had to give it to her.

"Contrary to popular belief, my mom isn't dead. She was carried off by a giant four-winged dragon that night, never killed. Because of vikings' hatred of dragons, it was immediately assumed that my mother was killed, yet she never was.

My mom never wanted to kill the dragons due to the fact that she thought dragons weren't bad creatures. She was right, which was only proved by the fact that the dragon didn't kill her.

She named him, befriended him, and he became part of her family. Me and Toothless were flying, when some dragon kidnapped me. They flew me to a giant gray mountain almost completely covered in ginormous blue-green ice spikes. They entered into a dark cavern, and I asked where my dragon was.

Some dragons had taken Toothless to the cavern, and they dropped him at my feet. I tried to tame one of the feisty dragons when she approached me and Toothless. She made Toothless roll over and almost touched my face, but she stopped short and gasped.

Retreating, she said my name. I asked how she knew my name, and if I should know her. She said that I shouldn't, but a mother never forgets."

"Wow." Astrid breathed; her lips parted slightly in shock.

"Yeah. Anyway she started to run away, with me following her. While I was firing multiple questions at her, she just climbed and ran to the inner nest. When I saw it, it blew me away. She gave me a tour, and asked if I wanted to stay." "

Kinda forward wasn't it?"

"I hadn't seen my mom since I was three years old. It doesn't seem forward to me."

"Right. Carry on."

"I stayed at the nest, getting to know my mom, and learn all she knew about dragons. Eventually, I was getting real worried for the dragons, as more and more were being taken by the old queen. I decided to take matters into my own hands; I attacked with Toothless.

That's how I lost my leg. I won, but I paid the price. Luckily, there had been a sick Gronckle earlier, because she'd ate too much food. When she vomited, it was an odd lava. However when you pound it and cool it, it becomes the strongest, lightest, best metal anyone ever found.

We call it Gronckle Iron, and I had stored up on it. We had some left over thankfully, and used that to make my leg. That was three years ago.

I had modified Toothless's saddle so we could still fly, and my life was perfect. Until me and Toothless were flying around, to see a village being attacked.

I naturally worried for the dragons, but weirdly, I felt a connection to the rocky island so I tried to drive them away, but you shot me down, and here we are."

"Here we are," Astrid said, looking away. "But where is that?"

"I have no idea," Hiccup admitted, feeling tears coming on. "Everything I did was for myself. The whole reason I wanted to go to my nest was to tell my mom where I was."

"But she wasn't there."

"She is on a month-long trip; now with about one week left. I needed to leave a note for her so she wouldn't go all war on my captors."

"So the bed I slept on wasn't for strangers?"

"Nope. It's my mom's bed. I left her a note before we left. I'm a selfish, idiotic, horrible coward."

"No you're not!" Astrid said, jumping up. Hiccup forced himself to meet her eyes, and what he saw scared him. Her crystal eyes blazed with fury, and her muscles were set tensely.

"You are an amazing person."

"How can I be? I lied to everyone, including my father and you. I don't understand how you can even stand me." Hiccup said, looking away again.

He focused on the bright blue sky and the fiery sun, knowing that it might very well be the last time he sees them. He could be _killed_ for his lies, or at the least, thrown in jail. He heard Astrid sigh and sit down next to him.

"Can you look at me?" She asked softly. Tearing himself away from the sky, he met Astrid's eyes with a scared mind. Her eyes had softened and they held compassion and ... love?

Why would she love him? He's an abomination. He's back to being Hiccup the Useless. Sad as it was, he knew that that weak coward had never left.

"You are compassionate, trustworthy, intelligent, courageous, amazing hero."

"How?"

"When you shot down Toothless, you shot off his tail I presume?" Hiccup nodded, wincing as Toothless grumbled unhappily from his perch in the corner of the room. He hated that subject being brought up.

"You didn't kill him like anyone else would. You set him free and gained his trust. You built a brand new tail for him so he could fly, and in return, he let you be the one to help him fly. You became best friends with what everyone else sees as an untamable beast. You are amazingly compassionate.

As for trustworthy, the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself let you become his best friend.

Not just anybody could build a tail-fin for a dragon, a prosthetic leg for themselves, or everything else you built."

"What about being courageous?"

"You defeated the queen with nobody but Toothless by your side! I'd call that being pretty courageous and heroic." Astrid exclaimed, smiling warmly at Hiccup.

"Do you really see me that way?" Hiccup asked; his voice small and weak.

"Yes. That's why I fell in love with you," Astrid whispered; love oozing out of her soft voice. Hiccup brought his eyes to hers. Amazed green met loving blue.

"I love you ... _Hiccup_." Astrid said.

Hiccup found himself smiling at her words. He folded his arms around her and she wrapped her own arms around his waist.

They pulled each other close so that there was no space between them. Astrid buried her face in Hiccup's chest, and Hiccup rested his head on her soft hair.

"I love you too ... _Astrid_." He whispered, kissing her hair.

"Ya know," Astrid started, her voice slightly muffled by Hiccup's tunic. "You still have to talk to Stoick."

"For what?"

"To get him to agree to let you help the village train dragons." Hiccup froze, but relaxed soon.

"Alright. We'll talk to him tomorrow. Meanwhile, you promised me a trip outside."

Astrid laughed and pulled back from the hug. She gazed lovingly at him, and touched his drying hair.

"Okay, but we need to cover your hair back up."

Hiccup looked at her, dumbfounded.

"You're not gonna tell?"

Astrid smirked at him, holding out her pinky.

"I won't if you won't." Hiccup bit back a laugh and wrapped his own pinky around Astrid's.

"Deal."

* * *

**Cats out of the bag now! This was by far the longest chapter I've written. **

**Most others had been about 2,000 words, and if they were short, 1,000. This one was ... drumroll please ... _(Please do a drumroll for about five seconds) _4,000! **

**Twice as much as I usually write! You're welcome! The next chapter might come out a little slow, but I promise it won't be that long. **

**Review please. They make my day! I love reading them.**

**BookLover86, Out! ;)**


	10. Important AN

Hi guys.

I know it's been a really long time since I updated, but I've been pretty busy. School has taken up a lot of time, and to be honest, I've lost inspiration for a lot of these.

Thanks to Miti-sweets, who reviewed on my _Cover of Night_ story, I haven't kept you guys in the loop. I might post some one-shots that I had a quick idea for, but all my stories are going to be put on hold for a little bit. At least until I can get some more ideas flowing.

If you have any ideas, feel free to PM me or leave a review and I'll get back to you. And if I do choose to use an idea of yours, I'll give you credit, obviously.

So, thank you for sticking with me throughout this long path. It's gonna be a bit longer, but I promise, my stories will be updated as soon as I can.

Writer's block isn't something I can wish away, even though I wish it was. Thank you again, and hopefully, you'll keep with me for just a little longer. This will be removed from all my stories once I update again.

I love you all, and thank you.

**BookLover86, Out! ;)**


	11. So Sorry

**Hey guys. **

So, it's 2016, and it's been over a year since I last updated ANY of my stories, which I am sooooooo sorry for. I love these stories and I really want to continue but I've been having trouble. I don't like the way they're written.

One of my stories, The Goode and The Bad, was taken down over the fact that I included song lyrics (even though I included the artist of the song and didn't claim the lyrics as my own). Cover of Night and Movie of My Life are still up, which are the ones that I'm going to continue, but not now nor here.

I'm moving over to A03 (Archive of Our Own). That's where I'll mainly be posting from now on. I'm under the same name of **BookLover86**. On that account, I'll be rewriting Cover of Night and Movie of My Life to make them better. I'm in high school now. I know how to write so much better than I did when I started those. I promise you that this time around, I'll get things right and make them stories I can be proud of. I have more time on my hands now in order to make these stories something special.

I'll be posting one-shots like Sixty-Three Words and Gone up on there too. Check them out if you truly liked them. I'm in the process of writing a _Miraculous Ladybug_ fic there, and a series called And I Quote… about many different fandoms in the works. Once again, I'm sorry and thanks for sticking with me.

**BookLover86, Out! ;)**


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